GIFT  or 


^^^pJU^XJK    X^oSiuv^v^   \C^ 


'yLyjL'U^t/^  ^2l%iyyi^> 


^^'^eJitc  (SJ- 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/flashlightsoftruOOkingrich 


THE  FLASHLIGHTS  OF  TRUTH 


The 
FLASHLIGHTS  of  TRUTH 

BY 

ELIZABETH  DELVINE  KING 

Autkor  of 

"Hlie  Lotus  Path,"  "TKe  Higher  Metaphysics,*' 

"Sayings  of  Jehovah,"  "Aum,  the 

Cosmic  Silence," 

Etc. 


Published  hy 

J.  F.  ROWNY  PRESS 

Los  Angeles,  Cal. 


CopyrigKt  igi8 

ELIZABETH  DELVIME  KING 

Los  Angeles,  Cal. 


J.    F.    ROWNV   PRESS.    LOS  ANGELES 


BOOKS  BY 

ELIZABETH  DELVINE  KING 


THE  LOTUS  PATH,  A  book  of  deep  spiritual  sig- 
nificance. Its  Message  is  direct  to  the  individual, 
teaching  him  to  find  himself — and  to  know  God. 
127  pages.  Paper  cover,  75  cts.  Cloth  bound,  $1.25 

AUM,  THE  COSMIC  SILENCE,  Assists  the  stu- 
dent-devotee to  come  into  the  Cosmic  at-one- 
ment.   23  pages.   Paper  cover,  35  cts. 

SAYINGS  OF  JEHOVAH,  Revealing  the  distinc- 
tion between  Aum,  the  Cosmic  Omnipresence, 
and  God,  the  Individual  expression  of  the  Infi- 
nite.    44  pages.     Paper  cover,  50  cts. 

THE  HIGHER  METAPHYSICS.  Consists  of  six- 
teen lessons,  teaching  the  importance  of  clari- 
fying the  mind  of  the  carna-l  illusions.  Paper 
cover,  75  cts. 

THE  FLASH-LIGHTS  OF  TRUTH.  Presenting  the 
Scientific  Truth;  also,  a  deep  spiritual  Message, 
assisting  the  devotee  to  walk  upon  the  Christ- 
Path,  the  Path  of  Love  and  Devotion.  560  pages. 
Cloth  bound,   $2.50. 

This  set  of  books  contains  a  message  for  the  New 
Age.     For  Sale  at 

Truth  Centre 

Phone  West  1135 
927  West  36th  Place  Los  Angeles,  Calif. 


388482 


J.    F.    ROWNV   I 


DEDICATION 

We  dedicate  this  book  and  its  message 

TO  ALL  PEOPLES  EVERYWHERE.  It  IS  A 
MESSAGE  TO  THE  LOW  AND  HUMBLE  AND  TO 
THE  HIGH  AND  MIGHTY. 

To  EVERY  READER  OP   THIS  BOOK,   HOPING 
THAT     YOU     GLEAN     THE     GOLDEN     NUGGETS 
HEREIN      CONTAINED,     TODAY     OR     IN     SOME 
OTHER  DAY, 
We   ESPECIALLY   DEDICATE   THIS   MESSAGE. — 

The  Flashlights  of  Truth. 


388482 


Chapter 


I. 

II. 

III. 


IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XL 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Page 

Dedication     iii 

Introduction    ix 

Preface    xiii 

The  Mystery  op  God 15 

Continuation  op  the  Mysteries  op  God  27 
The  Ages  That  Have  Passed 

AND  THE  Ages  That  Are  to 

Come.  Eternity  !  Which  Forever  Is  36 
The  Greatness  and  Smallness  op  God  . .  48 
Man,  the  "Crov^ning  Glory  op  God".  .  65 

Carnality  and  Its  Ways 83 

GoD^s  Creation — As  It  Is 103 

In  the  Deep;  or,  Here  and  Hereafter.  113 

exclusiveness 136 

Enlightenment   166 

The  Blessedness  of  Insight 187 

Retributive  Justice,  or.  Restoration  . .  200 

The  Dawn 211 

The  Flash  Light  op  Truth 229 

The  Labyrinth  op  God's  Glory 242 

The  Beauty  op  God 255 

The  Scientific  Truth 263 

Science  in  Action 277 

The  Mystery  of  the  Science  in  Action. 287 
Being  in  Science 296 

T 


VI 


Table  of  Contents 


Chapteh 

XXI. 

XXII. 

XXIII. 

XXIV. 

XXV. 

XXVI. 

XXVII. 

XXVIII. 

XXIX. 

XXX. 

XXXI. 


I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 


VIII. 

IX. 

X. 


XL 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 


Paob 

Scientific  Knowledge  305 

Understandingly  Abiding 314 

Vision  324 

The  Substantiality  op  That  Which  Is .  333 

The  Soul 343 

Healing  Instructions  347 

Divine  Satisfaction  353 

Knowing  the  Truth 362 

Conscious  Immortality  366 

The  Living  God  Almighty 374 

Conscious  Individuality 379 

SECOND  PART 

Dedication    385 

The  Song  op  the  Soul 387 

The  Lullaby  op  the  Infinite 396 

The  Silence  of  the  Infinite 400 

Sublimity    , 402 

"Jesus  Sat  By  the  Seaside" 406 

The  Consciousness  of  Jesus  Christ.  .  .411 
The  Song  of  the  Soul  op  Man^ 
as  He  Stands  on  the  Mount 

op  Transfiguration   417 

Man,  Body,  Mind,  Soul,  Spirit — One  . . .  420 

Completeness  424 

When  Man  Sees  With  Other  Eyes, 
Not  Dimmed  by  the  Mists  Upon 

This  Shore 430 

** Cleanliness  Is  Next  to  Godliness''.  .433 

Loving  Kindness 435 

''Know  Thou  Whereof  Thou 

Speaketh''  437 

Child  of  the  Kingdom 440 


Table  op  Contents 


Vll 


Chapter  Pa«b 

XV.    Appreciation 442 

XVI.    Cosmic  Consciousness 445 

XVII.     Sublimity  of  Beauty .450 

XVIII.    Laughing  in  God's  Law 453 

XIX.    Paradise  458 

XX.    Inspiration   461 

XXI.    Prayer    467 

XXII.     The  Bounty  of  God 469 

XXIIL     The  Highway  of  Our  God 474 

XXIV.    Jesus  Christ,  the  Way-Shower  ; 

The  Divine  Man  in  Expression 477 

XXV.     In  the  Realm  of  the  Real 483 

XXVI.    Anchorage    486 

XXVII.     Earnest  and  Steadfast 488 

XXVIII.    Abide  Thou  In  Abiding  Trust  In  God  . .  493 

XXIX.     The  Village  Path  (An  Allegory) 495 

XXX.     The  "Web  of  Truth, 

Having  Been  Wrought  Out,  Man 

Stands  at  Home  in  God,  Forever 

and  Forever 501 

THIRD  PART 

Dedication    511 

I.    Divine  Conviction 513 

II.     Upon  the  Sacred  Path 518 

III.  Practical  Application  of  the  Law 522 

IV.  The  Scientific  Man 526 

V.    Joyously  Living  in  the  Sunlight 

of  God's  Love 534 

VI.    Practical  Deductions  543 

VII.    Renunciation   552 

VIII.     The  Conclusion 555 


INTRODUCTION 

IN  presenting  the  flashlights  of  Truth  contained  in 
this  book,  we  claim  no  new  Truth;  neither  a  new 
interpretation  of  Truth. 

We  have  gathered  flashlights  of  Truth  which  have 
been  given  to  the  men  of  earth  from  time  immemorial, 
and  woven  them  into  a  fabric — this  book. 

As  God  is  One,  Truth  is  One.  It  matters  not,  if  it  is 
expressed  through  the  Sacred  Books  of  the  East,  the 
Scriptures  of  the  Hebrews  or  the  Bibles  of  the  other 
peoples  of  the  earth. 

If  anyone,  in  sincerity  and  without  prejudice,  will  read 
from  the  beginning  of  this  book  unto  the  finish,  he  will 
perceive  one  complete  web  of  Truth;  and  in  this  com- 
pleteness the  West  and  the  East  can  unite. 

We  have  emphasized  the  flashlights  of  Truth  which 
were  given  by  the  Nazarene  Master,  our  Elder  Brother 
and  the  world-Savior,  because  His  was  that  message 
which  each  individual  necessarily  must  know  and  bring 
into  expression,  that  he  may  become  extricated  from 
Maya, — the  great  illusion. 

We  have  brought  forth  the  flashlights  of  Jesus'  mes- 
sage, that  the  practical  deductions  may  be  understood, 
that  man  can  free  his  mentality  and  physical  body  from 
the  false  conclusions  of  the  carnal  man  concerning 
himself. 

When  the  individual  has  attained  freedom  through 
the  Christ  Light,  he  has  achieved:  he  is  at  Home,  the 
place  which  the  Enlightened  Gautama,  the  Buddha, 
called  Nirvana. 


X  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Truth  is  One.  Thus,  as  a  symbol  of  the  unity  of  the 
East  and  the  West  in  the  universal  and  Omnipresent 
Truth,  we  weave  on  the  cover  of  this  book  the  Lotus,  the 
sacred  flower  of  the  East,  which  is  a  symbol  of  the  Divine 
Mother — God-Love-Essence — and  the  Lily,  the  emblem  of 
the  birth  of  Jesus,  the  Christ,  in  Bethlehem;  that  birth 
of  Christianity  whose  esoteric  teachings,  when  brought 
to  the  surface  from  behind  the  literal  interpretations  of 
the  exoteric  teachings  of  the  followers  of  Jesus,  will 
reveal  the  way — the  rules — and  how  to  gain  assistance, 
that  man  can  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  Jesus  the  Christ. 

The  white  rose  we  humbly  unite  with  these,  bringing 
the  symbol  of  the  Trinity  into  expression.  It  is  a  symbol 
of  Buddha,  the  Enlightened  One,  whose  message,  given 
some  five  hundred  years  before  that  of  Jesus,  was  En- 
lightenment into  Purity,  which  brings  man  into  Nirvana. 

The  time  has  arrived  for  the  second  coming  of  Jesus, 
the  Christ,  the  great  world  Teacher.  We  send  forth  a 
web  of  Truth  which  is  universal,  without  name,  doctrinal 
beliefs  or  creeds  of  man. 

Just  the  Flashlights  of  Truth,— the  Truth  of  the  Ages, 
gathered  from  the  message  which  God  has  given  to  man 
through  His  chosen  Son,  and  those  of  lesser  Light. 

Nothing  new.  No!  For  God  is  All.  And  God  is 
Eternal. 

We  invite  our  brothers  of  the  East  and  our  brothers 
of  the  West  to  ''come  and  dine"  and  catch  the  Flash- 
lights of  Truth  which  will  reveal  to  you  the  unity,  the 
oneness  and  wholeness  of  Truth  Divine. 

Learn  that  Truth  is  universal ;  therefore,  the  same  to 
all  men;  and  in  every  clime,  "God  is  no  respecter  of 
persons. '  ^ 

We,  the  Spirit  of  Aum,  and  this  writer,  Yotis,  invite 
all  brothers  of  all  races,  colors  and  nationalities  to  glean 
these  flashlights,  given  at  the  beginning  of  this  New  Age, 
and  walk  in  that  light,  guided  by  the  Light  into  the 


Introduction  xi 

reconstruction  period  of  these  days;  and,  by  gleaning 
deeper  light  continually,  become  enlightened  sufficiently 
to  dwell  upon  the  earth  when  it  is  refreshed  by  the  dew- 
drops  of  Infinite  Love  and  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is 
reigning  upon  this,  ' '  God 's  footstool. ' ' 

Again  we  invite  all  to  ' '  come  and  dine, ' '  that  the  Love 
which  is  God-love  may  be  expressed  in  all  and  the  broth- 
erhood of  man  be  established  upon  the  earth  and  all  men 
live  in  the  Love  and  Light  which  is  God,  recognizing  that 
this  is  the  ' '  glorious  liberty  of  the  Sons  of  God. ' ' 

ABCIAT. 


PREFACE 

1HAVE  no  desire  to  bring  myself  into  the  foreground, 
except  to  inform  the  readers  of  this  book^ — ''The 
Flash  Lights  of  Truth ' ' — that  the  book  was  written 
under  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  Truth. 

I  call  to  remembrance  that  Jesus  Christ  ever  thanked 
the  Father  for  all  blessings.  This  I  sincerely  do.  Know- 
ing, as  I  do,  ' '  That  I  of  myself  can  do  nothing, ' '  I  there- 
fore send  this  message  forth  with  my  prayer  to  God,  our 
Father-Mother,  that  many  may  glean  the  Light  which 
shines  through  every  page,  digest  and  assimilate  it,  so 
that  it  may  become  a  realization,  which  realization,  united 
with  Love  and  Devotion,  opens  the  way  for  the  blessings 
which  follow  the  gleaning  of  the  Light. 

Ten  years  ago  I  was  privileged  to  receive  the  Baptism 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  spoken  of  in  the  Second  Chapter 
of  Acts,  thereby  coming  into  rapport  with  the  Holy 
Spirit  of  Truth. 

Many  and  sweet  have  been  the  trysting  times  and  hours 
of  deep  communion  Avith  my  Father,  Jesus  Christ,  and 
the  Holy  Spirit  of  Truth,  in  these  past  ten  years. 

"When  I  renounced  my  self-will  unto  the  Father's  Will, 
I  lost  nothing  but  gained  all, — by  trusting  in  God,  the 
Omnipresent  One. 

I  was  called  by  the  Spirit  of  Truth  into  semi-retire- 
ment to  write  this  book  in  1913-1914 ;  it  was  finished  in 
1915  and  now  published  in  1918. 

ELIZABETH  DELVINE  KING. 

927  West  36th  Place, 

Los  Angeles,  California. 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  MYSTERY  OF  GOD 

AS  far  back  as  the  mind  of  man  can  reach  is  the 
time,  just  before  creation  sprang  into  existence, 
when  darkness  was  over  the  face  of  the  deep. 
Darkness  is  expressive  of  something  which  is  incompre- 
hensible to  man. 

But  God  is  Light,  and  before  the  morning  stars  flashed 
forth  their  light  "and  the  sons  of  God  sang  sweetly 
together,"  "God  Is,"  as  "He  forever  was,"  and  will 
never  cease  to  be.  God  is  One!  and  will  ever  thus  re- 
main, filling  all  space.  Therefore,  He  is  limitless  and 
boundless, — this  is  Aum. 

For  a  clearer  comprehension  of  Light,  we  will  use  the 
Solar  Sun,  whose  light  is  warm  and  life-giving,  as  the 
symbol  of  the  Light  of  Love,  whose  Light  is  Eternal 
Warmth  and  Life-giving. 

Then,  cannot  one  easily  perceive  how  the  universes 
and  systems, — yes,  myriads  of  systems  of  universes, — can 
come  forth  from  the  Impersonal  God  into  manifestation, 
each  in  the  center  of  God,  and  all  living  and  moving  and 
having  their  being  in  God?  Then  it  is  plain  that  each 
universe  and  system  of  universes  can  perceive  their  at- 
one-ment  with  God, — AUM. 

These  universes  and  systems  of  universes  can  live  and 
move  in  their  appointed  places  for  ages,  yea,  aeons,  and 
finally  dissolve  and  retire  into  the  Impersonal  Aum,  and 
the  place  which  knew  their  form,  know  them  no  more. 
Yet,  they  are  not  destroyed,  as  every  atom  of  their  being 
exists  now,  as  it  did  before  they  formed  into  forms. 

15 


l4:t/i;,>ri!^}'fHs:  Pl^vshi^ights  of  Truth 

God,  the  Intelligence,  Life,  Light,  Love  and  Warmth 
that  is,  is  not  disturbed,  neither  divided  by  the  forming 
and  unforming  of  the  myriad  of  systems  of  universes. 

We  make  the  statement  that  God  is  Light.  Let  us 
analyze  Light.  When  we  begin  to  dissect  Light  we  find 
that  it  is  Life,  Warmth  and  Love ;  then,  too,  we  see  that 
it  must  be  Intelligence. 

Then  we  have  God  as  Light,  Life,  Love  and  Intelli- 
gence; and,  as  God  is  all,  there  is  nothing  to  obstruct 
Him.  Thus  we  see  that  Light  fills  all  space;  and,  if 
Light  fills  all  space,  Life,  Warmth,  Love  and  Intelli- 
gence fill  all  space ;  and  so  we  see  that  Aum  is  limitless 
and  boundless.  Then  each  and  every  manifestation  of 
God  is  forever  in  at-one-ment  with  God,  and  lives  and 
has  its  being  in  God ;  it  matters  not  if  it  is  a  tiny  grain 
of  sand  or  a  system  of  universes,  a  blade  of  grass  or 
man, — the  crowning  glory  and  highest  manifestation 
of  God. 

After  the  storms  of  winter,  which  have  caused  the 
earth  to  become  bleak  and  barren  of  vegetation,  the 
warmth  of  the  solar  sun,  which  has  again  crossed  the 
equator,  causes  the  life,  which  was  concealed  during  the 
cold,  wintry  blasts,  to  burst  forth;  and  soon  a  green 
mantle  is  spread  over  mountain  sides,  valleys  and  plains ; 
and  the  blossoms  of  fruit  and  grain  announce  that  the 
harvest  time  will  approach;  and  the  beautiful  flowers, 
which  are  the  messengers  of  Love  sent  forth  from  the 
Heart  of  Love  to  cheer  earth's  children,  sway  and  smile 
and  radiate  perfume,  filling  the  air  around  them  with 
the  breath  of  Paradise. 

Life,  Intelligence  and  Love  manifest  in  Law,  Action 
and  Order.  These  are  impersonal,  fill  all  space,  and  are 
limitless  and  boundless;  for,  lo!  these  are  God, — Aum! 
and  all  live  and  have  their  being  in  this  Presence. 

The  mysteries  of  God  are  not  past  finding  out  to  the 
Soul,  when  once  it  awakens  to  the  grand  varieties  of 
Being ;  but  they  are  unfathomable  to  the  intellect  of  the 
earth-man. 


The  Mystery  op  God  17 

We  read  in  Sacred  Writ,  "At  the  beginning,  darkness 
was  over  the  face  of  the  deep/'  The  mind  of  man  ex- 
tends backward,  as  it  were,  to  the  curtain  of  dawn  in  the 
beginning  of  creation;  but  it  cannot  penetrate  the  veil, 
because  the  finite  mind  cannot  reach  into  the  Infinite. 

God  existed  in  all  His  magnitude  before  creation  came 
into  existence,  just  as  He  now  does ;  and,  the  fact  is,  that 
in  a  literal  sense  there  was  no  darkness  at  all.  Unknow- 
able, unfathomable  is  that  which  resides  just  beyond 
that  dawn ;  and  this  is  darkness  to  the  finite  mind  of  man. 

When  God,  after  His  period  of  repose,  being  unmani- 
fest,  desired  to  become  manifest,  creation  sprang  forth, 
coming  from  its  Source, — God.  As  God  was  All,  there 
was  no  other  Source;  therefore,  creation  came  forth  in 
His  Wisdom  and  is  forever  unchangeable;  and  thus  it 
stands  and  will  forever  be. 

God  being  perfect,  an  imperfect  manifestation  could 
not  come  forth  from  Him. 

When  God  became  manifest  in  creation,  or  through 
creation,  He  set  the  Eternal  Law  of  Action  into  action, 
in  and  through  creation ;  yea,  He,  Himself,  is  that  Eternal 
Law  of  Action ;  for,  lo,  in  the  beginning  there  was  noth- 
ing but  God.  In  this  Eternal  Law  of  Eternal  Action,  all 
God's  Laws  spring  into  existence, — in  God's  wisdom  and 
at  His  desire,  and  all  are  working  in  His  care  to  hold, 
sustain  and  invigorate  creation  as  it  moves  on  through- 
out the  endless  asons  of  Eternity.  Creation,  which  is  the 
manifestation  of  God,  is  forever  in  this  Law.  As  long 
as  it  moves  in  rhythm  with  those  Laws,  all  is  well  with 
it  as  a  whole,  or  as  an  individual. 

The  earth  took  form  from  the  One  and  Only  Sub- 
stance. It  came  to  pass  in  rhythmic  action  with  the 
Law,  and  the  laws  contained  in  the  Law ;  and  as  long  as 
it  vibrates  in  the  harmonious  rhythm  of  the  Law  of  God, 
which  is  Unchangeable  and  Eternal,  all  is  well;  but, 
when  a  discordant  note  is  struck  and  the  rhythm  inter- 
fered with,  the  rate  of  vibration  is  lowered,  according  to 


18  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

the  condition  of  the  discordant  note  which  has  been 
struck,  and  it  may  require  ages  before  the  rate  of  vibra- 
tion is  lowered  sufficiently  to  cause  it  to  lose  its  individ- 
ualized form  and  sink  back  into  the  unmanifest,  there  to 
remain  until  God  wills  it  to  come  forth  again.  It  is  thus 
throughout  the  endless  seons  of  Eternity. 

As  the  ages  roll  by,  God  reposes.  Then  He  becomes 
manifest  at  His  Will;  and  all  His  creation  moves  and 
fulfills  in  His  all-wise  plan. 

But  what  of  man,  "the  crowning  glory  of  God's  crea- 
tion'^; yea,  he  whom  *'God  created  in  His  image  and 
likeness"? 

Man !  O  man !  None  but  the  awakened  Soul,  the  one 
who  has  been  born  again  and  has  the  Christ,  the  Holy 
Spirit,  dwelling  within  him,  can  grasp,  even  in  a  faint 
way,  what  it  means  to  be  created  in  the  image  and  like- 
ness of  God.  It  is  as  nothing  to  the  finite  man,  because 
to  him  it  is  beyond  the  curtain  which  drapes  the  dawn 
of  creation,  and  will  there  remain,  hid  in  the  unknowable, 
until  he  awakens  and  is  born  again.  Then  the  curtain 
will  be  rent  in  twain  and  the  light  of  the  morning  pene- 
trate him  through  and  through. 

Why  is  it  we  find  man  in  the  finite  state  and  so  sound 
asleep  that  he  must  be  awakened  and  born  again  before 
he  can  comprehend  what  it  means  that  "God  created 
man  in  His  image  and  likeness"? 

God  has  the  Power  and  Wisdom  within  Him  to  desire 
a  change,  as  He  Eternally  lived  Himself ;  and  this  desire 
came  into  manifestation  in  this  which  man  calls  creation. 
This  change  manifesting  as  creation  did  not  take  place 
instantly.  We  read  in  Sacred  Writ  that  seven  days  were 
consumed  in  bringing  it  forth  into  expression.  "Seven" 
therein  is  used  as  symbolical  of  the  time  of  completeness, 
which  was  Ages  and  Ages,  as  the  men  of  earth  reckon 
time. 

God  endowed  man  with  Intelligence,  Life,  Love  and  the 
Power  of  Desire ;  which  desire,  when  set  in  operation  in 


The  Mystery  of  God  19 

man,  causes  a  change  to  take  place  in  man.  Creation 
sprang  forth  from  the  only  Substance  there  was,  which 
was  God-Substance.  Man,  being  a  manifestation  of  God, 
when  he  used  His  power  of  choice  and  desired  a  change, 
it  was  limited ;  therefore  finite ;  and  within  the  scope  and 
power  of  his  desire,  and  man  began  to  move  out  from  the 
Infinite  concept  to  the  finite.  Infinite  means  limitless, 
while  finite  means  limited. 

We  read  in  this  same  Sacred  Writ,  that  God  placed 
man  in  the  Garden  of  Eden.  This  was  a  large  estate, — 
yea,  it  was  a  blissful  state  in  which  all  Souls  of  God's 
creation  dwelt ;  this  state  is  Paradise.  At  creation,  when 
the  Souls  of  men  became  individualized,  they  dwelt  in 
the  bosom  of  God,  their  Creator, — yea,  their  Father- 
Mother  ;  and  this  is  Eden ;  it  is  Bliss ;  it  is  Paradise.  As 
long  as  they  dwelt  in  contentment  there  it  was  well  wfth 
them ;  but  when  desire  came  into  expression,  the  change 
began  to  take  place  in  the  individual.  It  was  in  the 
individual  only ;  as  Paradise  was  in  no  way  disturbed  or 
affected  by  the  change  which  was  taking  place  in  the 
individual  Soul,  who  had  desired  a  change. 

As  soon  as  the  desire  was  expressed  in  thought  or 
word,  the  vibration  began  to  change ;  just  a  slight  change 
at  first,  'tis  true,  but  the  change  had  begun ;  and,  as  the 
desire  increased,  the  vibrations  became  lower  until  they 
were  low  enough  to  cause  this  Soul  to  begin  to  look  out- 
ward; and  we  find  man  (the  positive  and  the  negative 
part  of  his  being)  partaking  of  the  Fruit  of  the  Tree 
which  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  Garden.  When  they 
became  conscious  of  their  nakedness,  feeling  that  they 
were  not  in  perfect  rhythm  with  God,  and  not  under- 
standing concerning  this  change  which  had  taken  place 
in  them,  they  desired  a  covering.  As  they  moved  along, 
continuing  to  look  outward  and  to  observe  the  outer 
things,  they  by  and  by  lose  sight  of  God  as  He  is,  and 
enter  the  illusion  of  seeing  God  as  they  think  He  is. 

God,  Aum,  fills  all  space;  and  Jesus  Christ  said,  "I 


20  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

in  the  Father  and  the  Father  in  Me,'*  and,  referring  to 
His  works,  He  said,  ''The  Father  within  Me,  He  doeth 
the  works. ' '  He  understood  this ;  while  those  who  have  a 
lesser  degree  of  Light  find  it  necessary  to  ' '  seek,  ask  and 
knock"  until  they,  too,  attain  the  fullness  of  ''that  Light 
which  lighteth  every  man  who  cometh  into  the  world." 

Let  us  stand  in  imagination  at  the  dawn  of  Qreation ; 
yea,  let  the  mind  reach  beyond  the  dawn  into  the  dark- 
ness which  covered  "the  face  of  the  deep,"  and  then  the 
dawn,  as  creation  sprang  forth  from  the  Womb  of  the 
Infinite,  and  the  Light  shone  over  land  and  sea;  seeing 
this  as  the  mind  of  man  can  imagine  it. 

This  darkness  which  was  over  the  face  of  the  deep  is 
incomprehensible  until,  as  the  morning  light  approaches, 
the  curtains  of  night  begin  to  drape  aside,  then  roll  back 
as  a  scroll  as  the  full  light  of  the  sun  sends  its  golden 
rays  so  bright  and  clear  that  they  penetrate  the  dark- 
ness ;  and,  lo,  all  is  Light. 

Man,  as  he  "Seeks,  Asks  and  Knocks,"  comes  more 
closely  into  the  understanding  of  God,  Aum,  and  steps 
so  strongly  into  the  Light  that  he  sees  he  lives,  moves 
and  has  his  being  in  it;  then,  that  he  is  filled  with  it; 
and  the  darkness  that  was  over  the  face  of  the  deep  grad- 
ually is  dispelled  from  his  mind. 

In  the  outer  reckoning  of  things  it  is  a  long  journey 
for  the  Soul  from  the  time  it  becomes  conscious  that  it  is 
looking  outward  and  begins  to  partake  of  the  fruit  that 
grew  on  the  Tree  which  was  in  the  midst  of  the  Garden 
(of  which  Divine  Wisdom  had  forbidden  it  to  eat),  until 
it  reaches  the  place  on  the  Path  which  leads  through 
experience,  where  the  Light  of  God  again  becomes  so 
strong  that  the  curtain  is  drawn  aside  and  the  Soul 
pierces  the  darkness  with  clear  vision  and  understanding, 
and  knows  God,  Aum;  and,  creation  as  it  is;  and  man, 
the  manifestation  of  God,  as  he  is. 

When  man  became  conscious  that  he  was  in  the  Gar- 
den where  the  Tree  of  Life  and  the  Tree  of  Knowledge 


The  Mystery  op  God  21 

were,  he  moved  peacefully  along  into  the  evening  whence 
his  mind  was  enough  confused  to  feel  that  he  was  sepa- 
rated from  God;  and,  in  this  dulled  condition  of  his 
mind,  he  perceived  God  walking  in  the  midst  of  the 
Garden  and  calling,  ''Adam!  Where  art  thou?"  The 
Infinite  Intelligence  knew  where  man  was;  knew,  also, 
the  change  which  had  come  into  man's  mind  through  the 
vibrations  becoming  lowered  by  his  looking  away  from 
God,  the  Source  of  his  being,  to  outer  things.  But  man 
did  not  comprehend  this ;  therefore,  he  continued  looking 
outward  until  there  was  such  a  distance  in  his  conscious- 
ness between  himself  and  the  Father  that  he  was  removed 
from  the  Garden  of  Eden  and  a  Flaming  Sword  placed 
between  him  and  the  Tree  of  Life.  This  Flaming  Sword 
is  the  Light  of  Truth,  the  Light  that  is  Truth. 

No  man,  after  he  has  partaken  of  the  Fruit  of  the 
Tree  of  Knowledge  of  Good  and  Evil,  which  brought 
men  into  the  school  of  earth-experience,  can  again  come 
unto  the  Tree  of  Life  until  he  is  pierced  by  that  Flaming 
Sword,  and  can  understand  it  and  handle  it  with  Love 
and  "Wisdom. 

When  man  has  reached  the  place  where  he  *  *  knows  the 
Truth,"  and  knows  that  he  is  ''lighted  by  that  Light 
which  lighteth  every  man  who  cometh  into  the  world," 
he  will  have  passed  through  the  school  of  earth's  experi- 
ence and  come  from  the  state  of  the  Adam-man  unto 
the  glorious  Light  of  Jesus  the  Christ. 

We  read,  "As  in  Adam  all  die,  so  in  Jesus  Christ  all 
are  made  alive. ' '  Adam  represents  the  Soul  as  it,  through 
the  lowering  of  its  vibrations,  finds  itself  in  the  Garden 
of  Eden  and  the  vibrations  low  enough  to  have  caused 
man  to  lose  the  consciousness  of  Bliss  which  he  enjoyed  in 
the  higher  state  of  concept,  or  vibration.  Man  in  this 
state*  began  to  depend  upon  himself  for  happiness,  food 
and  raiment  and  all  that  belongs  to  this,  his  life  of 
separation. 

As  man  ate  more  freely  of  the  Fruit  of  the  Tree  of 
Knowledge  of  Good  and  Evil,  he  passed  further  into  the 


22  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

self-will  and,  finally,  he  endeavors  to  depend  upon  self 
for  the  ability  to  live  and  enjoy  life.  Thus  the  carnal 
mind  was  formed ;  and,  in  time,  the  thoughts  and  desires 
of  the  selfishness  in  it  caused  man  to  become  conscious 
of  the  outer  mind  only;  and  mankind  has  walked  down 
the  centuries,  becoming  as  barbarous  as  it  was  possible 
for  this  carnal  mind  (the  Adversary)  to  make  him.  The 
Divine  Man,  whom  God  created,  has  become  encased,  as 
it  were,  with  this  carnal  concept ;  the  outer  and  the  inner 
of  it  (the  conscious  and  subconscious)  ;  but  the  Divine  or 
Super-conscious  man  remains,  and  is  the  man  which  God 
created. 

As  long  as  man  lives  under  the  sway  of  the  carnal 
mind,  which  is  the  mind  of  earth  only,  he  cannot  see  the 
beauty,  sweetness  and  glory  which  is  in  the  two-edged 
sword  (the  Light  of  Truth)  which  guards  the  Tree  of 
Life. 

It  is  not  in  the  Desire  or  Will  of  the  Father,  the  Cre- 
ator, that  man  should  live  forever  in  the  carnal  concept 
of  himself;  therefore,  he  is  not  permitted  to  come  unto 
Eternal  Life  consciousness  until  he  is  born  again. 

Jesus  Christ,  in  answer  to  Nicodemus'  question,  said, 
*'Ye  must  be  born  again." 

A  Prophet  of  God,  letting  the  voice  of  the  Infinite 
speak  through  him,  said,  "The  wind  bloweth  where  it 
listeth,  and  thou  hearest  the  sound  thereof,  but  canst  not 
tell  whence  it  cometh  nor  whither  it  goeth."  So  man,  in 
his  carnal  state,  cannot  tell  the  Rhythm  and  Action  of 
the  Law  and  Love  of  God.  ''Ye  must  be  born  again." 
Jesus  also  said  to  Nicodemus,  "Ye  must  be  born  from 
above." 

As  the  carnal  mind  and  its  expressions  in  man  are  of 
the  earth,  earthy,  so  the  God-man,  the  one  "created  in 
the  Image  and  likeness  of  God,"  is  of  Heaven,  Heavenly. 
Man's  quickening,  also  his  new  Birth,  comes  from  above. 
Then  God  sets  His  seal  upon  him,  and  the  vibrations  of 
his  being  are  so  quickened  and  raised  that  the  things  of 
earth  and  the  love  of  worldly  pleasure  can  no  longer 


The  Mystery  of  God  23 

influence  him  or  hold  him  in  bondage.  Tiien  his  eyes  are 
turned  upon  the  Flaming  Sword,  and  he,  guided  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  which  comes  into  his  being  at  the  New 
Birth,  will  come  unto  and  into,  and,  finally,  will  become 
that  Light  and  consciously  stand,  not  only  near  the  Tree 
of  Life,  but  he,  too,  is  a  tree  of  Life  and,  knowingly, 
stands  in  the  midst  of  Paradise,  a  Redeemed  Son  of  God. 
He  has  then  finished  with  earth's  experience  for  him- 
self; but  he  now  is  ready  and  prepared  to  assist  those 
who  are  living  in  the  carnal  man 's  concept  of  themselves 
and  the  earth. 

The  Soul  in  Paradise  dwells  in  perfect  bliss  and  re- 
mains in  that  state  until  he  chooses  to  desire  to  know 
how  it  might  be  to  be  other  than  Blissful.  It  is  as  an 
innocent  babe,  filled  with  the  ecstasy  of  resting  on  the 
Father's  Bosom  and  covered  and  surrounded  with  His 
Love.  But,  when  the  Soul  has  partaken  of  the  Fruit  of 
the  Tree  of  Knowledge  of  Good  and  Evil  and  has  moved 
out  on  the  path  which  leads  through  carnal  experiences 
and  travelled  thereon  until  it  has  pressed  to  its  complete- 
ness the  wine-press  of  woe,  heartaches  and  sorrow, 
which  express  in  sickness,  old  age,  death  and  poverty; 
then,  like  a  tired  child,  it  pauses  long  enough  to  consider ; 
and,  in  this  consideration,  it  discerns  that  these  glitter- 
ing desires,  which  man  seeks  to  achieve,  are  only  shadows, 
which  change  as  the  sun  rises  and  sets;  are  only  the 
will-o'-the-wisp,  leading  man  further  into  the  marsh  of 
the  carnal  man's  will  and  ways. 

When  man  has  reached  this  point  on  the  path  and 
realizes  he  has  eaten  to  his  full  of  the  Fruit  of  the  Tree 
of  Knowledge  of  Good  and  Evil  and  turns  and  faces 
the  Flaming  Sword  and,  through  prayer,  seeks  to  learn 
the  Father's  will  and,  through  Prayer,  Devotion  and 
Love,  desires  to  lay  down  and  cast  aside  his  own  self- 
will,  (the  carnal  mind),  and  come  into  the  concept  of 
his  Divine-Self,  which  is  God  individualized,  he  reaches 
the  Paradisiacal  state  again  and  is  then  no  longer  the 


24  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

innocent  babe  on  the  Father  *s  Bosom,  but  a  Redeemed 
Son. 

As  long  as  man's  bark  is  on  a  placid  sea  or  calm  lake, 
the  sky  blue,  the  sunshine  clear  and  warm,  he  is  con- 
tent in  carnality.  If  one  should  speak  to  him  of  God, 
perchance  he  will  say,  **  There  is  no  God.  Nature  is  all 
I  see,  and  nature's  laws  I  have  learned,  and  know  the 
seasons  as  they  come  and  go  with  their  seed-time  and 
harvest. ' '  However,  there  will  come  a  day  to  every  Soul 
when  the  quiet  summer  day  will  come  to  a  close  and  the 
evening  shadows  of  autumn  gather  around  and,  by  and 
by,  the  storms  of  winter. 

A  Redeemed  Son  of  God,  one  who  has  passed  over  the 
path  which  leads  through  experience  and  has  the  full 
Light  of  Truth,  sees  the  clouds,  storms  and  wintery 
blasts,  but  is  not  disturbed  by  them;  because  he  is  vi- 
brating in  the  Love  and  Warmth  of  the  Presence  of  his 
Heavenly  Father.  He,  thus  endued,  can  assist  those  who 
are  still  lost  in  the  maze  and  confusions  which  surround 
the  path  that  leads  through  carnality  and  the  school  of 
experience. 

No  man  is  a  Redeemed  Son  of  God  until  he  has  passed 
out  from  Paradise,  partaken  of  the  Fruit  of  the  Tree  of 
Knowledge  of  Good  and  Evil,  which  stood  in  the  midst 
of  the  Garden,  passed  through  the  school  of  experience, 
been  born  again  and  partaken  of  Life  Eternal  and  there- 
by become  a  conscious  redeemed  Son  of  God.  How  long 
a  time  this  requires  for  a  Soul  "No  man  knoweth,  not 
even  the  Son;  but  the  Father."  None  will  be  forever 
lost ;  no,  not  one ! 

Some  may  loiter  a  long  time  by  the  side  of  babbling 
brooks,  or  in  the  shade  in  the  midst  of  green  pastures, 
or  stop  to  gather  the  tender  flowers  of  spring-time,  or 
the  more  sturdy  ones  of  summer.  Some  may,  through 
the  Law  of  Cause  and  Effect,  find  themselves  in  barren 
places,  and  the  chains,  which  they  themselves  have 
forged,  bind  them  until  "They  have  paid  unto  the  very 


The  Mystery  of  God  25 

last  farthing '  * ;  but,  in  the  fullness  of  time,  they  will  be 
free  and  again  take  up  their  problem  and  continue  to 
study  its  mystery  until  they  have  solved  it.  Then  they 
will  understand  the  deep  Laws  of  God,  which  are  con- 
tained in  the  One  Law, — God^s  Law. 

As  the  finite  man,  or  the  man  in  the  finite  concept, 
looks  at  this  stupendous  task,  the  curtain  hangs  thick 
and  low,  and  darkness  is  over  the  face  of  the  deep. 

Again  we  say,  **man  in  his  finite  state  cannot  pierce 
the  gloom  of  ignorance  and  superstition  which  has  formed 
in  the  finite  mind ;  this  is  impossible,  as  the  finite  cannot 
comprehend  the  Infinite." 

There  is  a  way  of  escape  from  the  finite  state,  so  that 
man  may  cause  the  curtains  to  be  draped  aside  and  step 
into  the  higher  concept  and  fathom  the  depths  beyond 
and  know.  This  is  through  first  awakening,  then  getting 
understanding,  then  attaining  unto  the  New  Birth ;  then 
on,  and  on! 

Jesus  Christ  said,  ''When  he  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  'The 
Comforter, '  is  come,  He  will  guide  and  lead  you  into  all 
Truth."  I  *^'#^ 

Man  can  then  see  that  it  is  with  man  to  work  his  way 
through  the  maze  of  the  experiences  of  the  carnal  life 
and  learn  the  Truth  and  "Seek,  ask  and  knock"  until  he 
has  arrived  at  Home,  Redeemed. 

Man,  himself,  is  responsible  for  his  having  desired  a 
change  which  brought  him  unto  the  Tree  of  Knowledge, 
and,  contrary  to  the  whispering  of  Divine  Wisdom,  ate 
thereof.  God  endued  man  at  creation  with  this  power  to 
desire  a  change,  or,  as  designated  by  some,  free-will. 

This  free-will  is  that  which  keeps  man  from  the  per- 
fect expression  of  God.  As  he  is  "God's  Image  and 
Likeness,"  this  free-will  is  the  only  thing  which  man 
really  has,  and  is  the  one  thing  which  God  requires. 
When  man's  self-will  is  surrendered  unto  God's  Will,  or 
merged  thereunto,  man,  then,  will  be  happy  and  content, 
having  Divine  Satisfaction. 


26  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Through  the  teachings  which  are  being  given  in  this 
book  man  can  learn  how  to  lay  down  the  self-will  and 
how  to  live  consciously  in  the  Father's  Will:  this  is 
man's  inheritance;  it  is  his  Birthright. 

When  man  has  arrived  at  the  ripening  cycle,  the  very 
powers  that  be  assist  him  unto  the  fullness  of  his  ripen- 
ing, just  as  the  orange  is  assisted  to  its  full  ripening,  in 
the  ripening  season,  by  the  Laws  of  Nature.  The  orange 
is  taken  from  the  tree  and  gives  itself  for  usefulness ;  so 
man  steps  aside  from  the  Wheel  of  Experience  and,  hav- 
ing surrendered  his  self-will  (carnal  desires)  is  ready  for 
service,  as  the  Father  desires. 

Thus  we  see  the  Mysteries  of  God  unfurl,  as  page  by 
page  we  scan  the  Book  of  Life  and  line  by  line  read 
behind  the  letters  and  perceive  the  Spiritual  Workings 
of  the  Infinite,  whose  Intelligence  is  so  great,  w^hose  Love 
is  so  strong  that,  ' '  Not  a  sparrow  f alleth  but  the  Father 
knoweth ' ' ;  and  who  heareth  the  faintest  call  of  the  small- 
est of  His  Creation. 

Hark !  Let  all  be  still,  and  list  to  the  Silence  within, 
and  without;  for  this  is  the  Presence  of  God.  God  is 
omnipresence. 

God  dwells  in  His  Temple !  Let  all  men  be  still  be- 
fore Him.  Then  in  that  Sacred  Stillness,  list  for  ''His 
Still,  Sweet  Voice,"  which  will  ever  lead,  guide,  encour- 
age and  sustain  those  who  turn  to  Him  and  seek  to  know 
Him. 

There  is  a  valley  which  is  dark  and  dreary,  though 
the  sun  shines  clear  and  bright.  The  carnal  mind  is 
king  there,  and  rules  in  darkness,  doubt  and  despair; 
but  his  reign  is  not  eternal,  because  the  counterfeit  will 
be  shorn  of  its  power. 

Then  man  will  recognize  the  Kingdom  of  Harmony, 
which  he  then  perceives  is  within,  enabling  him  to  dwell 
in  Harmony  and  Peace  among  his  fellow  man. 


CHAPTER  II 

CONTINUATION  OF  THE  MYSTERIES  OP  GOD. 

UNTIL  the  mind  has  become  Illumined,  the  work- 
ings of  God's  Laws  are  mysterious.  When  the 
finite  mind  catches  a  glimpse  of  the  workings  of 
the  Infinite,  men  call  it  supernatural  and  leave  it  there. 

But,  occasionally,  all  down  the  ages  since  the  dawn, 
when  the  first  Souls  stepped  into  a  low  vibration  and 
were  cast  out  from  the  Garden  of  Eden,  there  has  been 
one  now  and  then  who  has  become  enough  in  tune  with 
the  Infiinite  to  understand,  in  part,  the  Mysteries  of  God 
and  have  taught  them  to  humanity.  All  men  will  re- 
main in  humanity  until  they  become  again  in  tune  with 
the  Infinite  and  be  man  as  he  was  before  he  partook  of 
the  Fruit  in  the  Garden  of  Eden. 

In  the  Mysteries  of  God,  the  seasons  come  and  go. 
Seed-time  and  harvest  follow  each  other  in  the  con- 
tinuous round  of  the  panorama  which  is  spread  before 
the  gaze  of  man  throughout  the  endlessness  of  Eternity. 

Creation  is  continuous.  God  rests,  then  manifests ;  and 
the  panorama  changes  for  the  benefit  of  creation;  or, 
rather,  for  those  who  are  living  in  the  concept  of  the 
carnal  creation. 

Man  will  live  in  the  carnal  concept  of  himself  until 
he  attains  full  Illumination.  In  this  concept  of  himself 
and  the  universe,  he  requires  the  fruit  and  grain  of  the 
harvest  time ;  and,  to  have  the  harvest,  man  must  sow  the 
grain  and  plant  and  care  for  the  trees  and  vines.  God 
said  unto  Adam,  after  he  was  cast  from  the  Garden,'' You 
shall  now  earn  your  bread  by  the  sweat  of  your  brow ; ' ' 

27 


28  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

and  to  wo-man — the  negative  part  of  man — *  *  Thou  shalt 
bring  forth  children  in  pain  and  sorrow."  Thus  it  has 
been,  and  it  will  continue  to  be  to  each  and  every  man, 
and  woman,  as  long  as  they  live  in  the  carnal  concept 
and  walk  upon  the  carnal  path,  and  throughout  Eternity 
it  will  be  thus. 

In  the  midst  of  the  carnal  sleep,  even  while  man  is  very 
busy  attending  to  his  duties  and  counting  the  seasons  as 
they  come  and  go,  there  is  a  way  of  escape  for  each  Soul, 
as  soon  as  it  is  awakened  sufficient  to  desire  it. 

Jesus  Christ,  when  He  was  teaching  His  message  of 
Truth,  near  twenty  centuries  ago,  in  His  efforts  to  assist 
those  who  were  awakened  to  learn  the  way,  said  unto 
them:  *'Ye  shall  know  the  Truth,  and  the  Truth  shall 
make  you  free."  Pilate  asked  Jesus  the  very  important 
question,  **What  is  Truth?"  There  is  no  record  that 
Jesus  made  an  answer  to  this  question.  It  has  caused 
wonder  in  many  minds  that  Jesus  did  not  see  best  to 
answer  Pilate's  question. 

Jesus  had  arrived  at  that  place  where  He  knew  **He 
and  the  Father  are  one."  From  that  Illuminated  Con- 
sciousness, He  knew  and  comprehended  the  Mysteries  of 
God — of  His  Creation,  His  Laws,  His  manifestations. 
How  could  so  vast  and  sublime  a  subject  be  treated  with 
a  few  words,  in  answer,  in  the  short  time  at  His  disposal  ? 
Besides,  the  state  of  mind  those  present  were  in  could 
not  have  comprehended  any  answer  He  might  have  given ; 
therefore  He  saw  that  it  was  best  to  answer  it  not.  Jesus ' 
Life's  example  was  then  before  the  world.  His  message 
had  gone  forth;  and,  if  Pilate  really  desired  to  Know 
the  Truth,  the  opportunity  was  at  hand. 

Jesus  Christ  is  one  who  has  come  into  the  God-light 
fully  and  comprehends  the  Mysteries  of  God.  We  can 
see  by  Jesus'  life  and  teachings,  when  one  attains  ''The 
full  Christ-Consciousness"  that  the  Mysteries  of  God 
are  clear  to  him;  but  in  the  carnal  mind  consciousness 


The  Mysteries  of  God  29 

we  know  that  they  are  so  deep  and  dark  that  they  seem 
past  finding  out. 

* '  Know  the  Truth,  * '  is  the  command  of  Jesus ;  and  His 
promise  is,  *'It  shall  make  you  free.'*  The  Infinite, 
speaking  some  five  hundred  years  before  this,  through 
the  lips  of  Gautama  Buddha,  said,  **  Ignorance  is  the 
cause  of  all  this  misery.*'  Gautama  had  awakened  suf- 
ficiently from  the  slumber  of  the  ''Adam-sleep"  to  ob- 
serve the  sufferings  the  people  were  in,  and  earnestly 
sought  until  he  found  the  cause. 

When  a  child  starts  to  school,  it  is  ignorant  of  those 
things  which  the  school  will  teach  it.  The  child  comes 
to  the  school  and  is  placed  in  the  care  and  under  the 
tutorship  of  a  teacher,  according  to  its  knowledge.  One 
may  be  placed  in  the  kindergarten  to  cut  out  and  make 
paper  boxes ;  and  another,  in  a  room  in  advance,  where 
it  will  learn  its  letters,  the  letters  being  the  foundation 
of  all  learning,  and  each  letter  representing  far  more 
than  simply  its  form. 

In  order  to  understand  the  Mysteries  of  God  we  neces- 
sarily must  have  a  clear  understanding  of  God.  When 
we  come  into  the  clear  light  that  is  shining  in  this  twen- 
tieth century,  we  look  past  the  old  conception  of  God, 
which  has  been  recognized  as  correct  through  the  past 
thousands  of  years,  and  gain  a  clearer  concept. 

In  the  morning  hours  of  God's  dealings  with  the  He- 
brew people,  the  mists  hung  low  and  the  morning  air 
was  damp  and  chilly ;  and  in  this  atmosphere  the  people 
naturally  recognized  God  as  a  cold  and  revengeful  being, 
— filled  with  wrath ;  but  as  the  sun  arises  and  its  bright, 
warm  rays  pierce  the  mist  and  gloom,  the  atmosphere 
becomes  warmer  and  the  hearts  of  the  people  respond 
to  this  warmth ;  and,  as  the  sun  moves  toward  the  noon 
hour,  the  people  become  more  enlightened,  and  humanity 
is  gradually  coming  into  a  state  of  universal  brother- 
hood. 

Today,  when  the  sun  has  near  reached  the  zenith,  we 
find  many  people  thinking  of  their  fellow  man,  their 


30  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

brothers,  and  some  are  turning  their  wealth  into  a  bless- 
ing to  others. 

As  the  solar  sun's  rays  warm  and  bless  the  earth  and 
everything  lives  and  thrives  in  it,  so  the  Son  of  Right- 
eousness causes  the  rays  of  Spirit  to  quicken  and  bless 
mankind ;  for,  as  the  rose  bush  is  destined  to  give  forth 
the  full  blown  rose,  so  man  is  destined  to  stand  forth 
when  the  sun  has  reached  the  zenith,  a  Redeemed  son  of 
God — a  conscious  '' manifestation  of  the  Living  God." 

As  the  mind  expands  in  man's  effort  to  comprehend 
the  greatness  and  vastness  of  God,  the  carnal  concept 
exclaims,  ''0,  God!  How  wonderful,  that  thou  in  Thy 
greatness,  canst  stoop  to  comprehend  man ! ' ' 

When  the  carnal  man  begins  to  awaken  from  the  Adam 
Sleep  (all  are  asleep  as  long  as  they  live  in  the  carnal 
concept  only)  and  is  aroused  from  the  sleep  even  slightly, 
he  seems  to  grasp  the  greatness  of  God  and  the  insignifi- 
cance of  man ;  but  this  is  the  carnal  man  only.  As  the 
sun  shines  brighter  and  man  responds  more  consciously 
to  the  rays  from  the  Son  of  Righteousness,  man  will  begin 
to  know  and  understand  God.  When  man  understands 
God,  he  will  know  himself.  When  man  has  reached  this 
place,  he  begins  to  understand  the  Mysteries  of  God ;  and 
can  then  ''Read  the  handwriting  on  the  wall." 

As  we  read  the  history  of  God's  dealings  with  the  He- 
brew people,  from  Moses  to  Abraham  and  from  Abraham 
to  Jesus  Christ,  and  then  observe  that  at  the  crucifixion 
the  Jews  were  left  without  a  shepherd  to  scatter  and 
roam  the  world  over;  and  that  the  disciples  of  Jesus 
Christ  turned  to  the  Gentiles  to  teach  them  the  Message 
of  Truth ;  we  yet  know  that  the  Jews  were,  and  are, 
God's  chosen  people.  For  two  thousand  years  this  mes- 
sage has  been  given  to  the  Gentiles,  and  now  that  the 
sun  is  nearing  the  zenith  the  command  is,  tlie  srospel 
''Truth"  must  be  preached  to  all  nations;  and  the 
Father,  speaking  through  the  Master's  lips,  said:  "And 
blessed  are  those  who  hear  and  understand." 


The  Mysteries  op  God  31 

Jehovah  is  steering  the  ship  in  which  the  Hebrew  peo- 
ple are  embarked.  Another  cycle  has  passed  since  they 
were  left  without  a  leader;  therefore,  they  are  scattered 
over  the  whole  earth,  just  as  a  flock  of  sheep  scatters  over 
the  mountains  when  left  without  a  shepherd ;  but  let  him 
return  and  call,  the  sheep  will  stop  grazing  and  listen; 
when  they  recognize  the  voice,  they  will  follow  him  and 
he  will  lead  them  into  green  and  luxuriant  pastures. 

At  the  close  of  this  cycle,  or  dispensation,  the  prophets 
have  said  that  the  Jewish,  or  Hebrew  people,  would  re- 
turn to  Jerusalem.  There  is  a  broader  and  deeper  mean- 
ing to  this  than  the  historical  only. 

The  Hebrew  people  were  led  out  from  bondage  in 
Egypt  with  their  destination  the  Promised  Land  (Free- 
dom from  bondage),  by  Moses,  a  Hebrew,  whom  God 
had  chosen  and  prepared  for  that  particular  work.  His- 
tory states  that  they  were  forty  years  wandering  in  the 
wilderness  before  they  reached  the  Land  of  Promise, 
while  the  journey  could  have  been  made  in  three  days, 
the  distance  being  so  short.  The  carnal  man  wonders 
how  this  is  and  why  it  was  so. 

The  history  of  God's  chosen  people  stands  symbolical 
of  the  wanderings  of  each  individual  through  the  wilder- 
ness of  the  experiences  of  the  carnal  man:  and  he  re- 
quires the  forty  years  in  the  desert  of  carnality,  with  its 
murmurings,  fears,  doubt — and  sometimes  turning  aside 
to  worship  the  Golden  Calf,  which  they  themselves  have 
caused  to  be  made — when,  in  reality,  they  could  reach 
their  destination  in  three  days. 

The  forty  years  represent  man's  wandering  in  the 
carnal  concept  of  himself ;  and  the  three  days,  the  Spir- 
itual awakening  into  Redemption.  Jesus'  body  lay 
three  days  in  the  tomb ;  then  He  brought  it  forth  a  Re- 
deemed or  Glorified  Body,  having  passed  from  death 
into  Life  Eternal. 

In  Scripture  we  find  that  the  Promised  Land,  Caanan, 
was  a  rich  land,  "Flowing  with  milk  and  honey,"  but 
they  found  giants  there.     Therefore,  though  they  had 


32  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

reached  the  Land  of  Promise,  that  land  which  Abraham 
with  his  eye  of  faith  caught  in  clear  vision,  they  must, 
after  they  enter,  go  to  war  and  overcome  the  giants 
which  dwell  there.  We  read  of  war  with  different  Tribes, 
and,  at  one  time,  the  Hebrew  people  were  again  taken 
captive  by  Nebuchadnezzar.  Yet  through  it  all,  they 
were  held  together  as  a  nation  until  they  reached  the 
end  of  the  Mosaic  Dispensation,  which  brought  them  to 
the  crucifixion  of  Jesus  the  Christ.  Then  Jehovah,  see- 
ing they  had  not  attained  unto  the  Christ-consciousness — 
or  the  Son  of  God  concept — caused  the  nation  to  be  scat- 
tered over  the  whole  earth,  without  a  shepherd.  But  the 
cycle  has  arrived  and  the  new  Dispensation  is  being 
ushered  in  and  the  Shepherd  has  returned  to  gather 
His  flock  which  has  scattered  over  the  mountains  of  the 
earth.  When  they  hear  the  voice,  they  will  listen,  be- 
cause there  is  something  familiar  in  its  soft  melody,  and 
they  will  gladly  start  in  the  direction  from  whence  it 
came. 

In  this  new  era,  when  the  Jewish  people  are  literally 
returning  to  the  Holy  Land,  and  are  beginning  to  re- 
build Jerusalem,  they  are  proving  the  prophesies  to  be 
true.  Those  who  were  not  ready  to  receive  the  Son  of 
God  two  thousand  years  ago  and  are  now  awakened  to 
recognize  the  Son  of  God — the  Christ-consciousness — 
and  welcome  it,  will  hear  the  Shepherd  *s  voice,  as  it  in 
musical  tones  vibrates  to  the  uttermost  bounds  of  the 
earth,  until  every  awakened  one,  hearing,  will  respond 
and  vibrate  in  harmonious  rhythm  with  the  Shepherd 
of  God's  flock,  and  the  **One  hundred  and  forty-four 
thousand''  will  arise  with  Him,  the  Shepherd,  into  the 
full  Christ-Consciousness,  and  these  will  assist  the  Good 
Shepherd  to  establish  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  upon 
earth  in  the  objective,  as  it  is  now  consciously  estab- 
lished within  them.  *  *  Then  former  things  will  pass  away 
and  all  things  will  become  new."  Jesus  said,  ** Heaven 
and  earth  shall  pass  away,  but  my  words  shall  not. ' '  He 
also  said,  ''My  words  are  Spirit  and  they  are  Life." 


The  Mysteries  op  God  33 

We  read  that  war  was  resorted  to  in  the  land  of 
Caanan,  the  Promised  Land,  against  the  giants,  or  the 
people  who  lived  there ;  and,  after  a  sufficient  number  of 
these  people  were  overcome,  they  began  to  build  their 
capital,  Jerusalem. 

In  the  individual,  of  which  the  historical  is  the  symbol, 
after  he  reaches  the  Promised  Land,  **The  Christ-Con- 
sciousness," he  finds  that  there  are  giants  to  overcome. 
What  are  these  giants  ?  They  are  the  beliefs  and  super- 
stitions of  the  carnal  man,  which  do  really  appear  giants 
until  man  has  the  same  consciousness  of  God's  Presence 
and  assitance  as  David  had  when  he  quietly  walked  to 
the  brook  and  gathered  "Five  small  stones,''  and  with 
them  slew  the  great  giant,  Goliath,  and  left  the  land  free. 

Even  after  man  has  crossed  over  the  border-line  into 
the  Christ- Consciousness  (there  is  much  to  be  done,) 
which  requires  constant  action.  Wisdom  and  Love. 

If  one  becomes  weary  and  overcome  by  the  influence 
of  the  giants  and  lies  down  to  slumber,  he  may  sleep  past 
the  ripening  time  and  then  pass  on  through  the  cycle 
until  a  new  day  arrives — a  New  Dispensation.  We  find 
by  the  history  of  the  Hebrew  children  that  they  did  not 
sit  down  and  loiter  when  they  reached  the  Land  of 
Promise,  but  went  in  and  inhabited  it.  Thus  it  is  with 
the  individual,  when  he  crosses  the  border  line  between 
the  wilderness  and  the  Land  of  Caanan,  the  carnal  man's 
concept  and  the  Christ-consciousness,  he  must  enter  in 
and  inhabit  it  and  continue  the  warfare  within  himself 
until  the  land,  (himself),  is  cleared  of  the  giants.  Then 
the  individual  stands  consciously  clothed  in  his  right 
mind — "The  mind  which  was  and  is  in  Jesus  Christ." 
Then  there  will  be  no  more  war  in  this  man,  because  ' '  He 
has  fought  the  good  fight;  he  has  kept  the  faith,"  and 
there  is  laid  up  for  him  a  crown  of  righteousness, — (His 
Glorified  and  Redeemed  Body).  "Then  the  lamb  and 
lion,  the  warring  elements  within  him,  will  lie  down  to- 
gether and  a  little  child,  (Trust  and  Love),  shall  lead 
him." 


34  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

It  was  after  the  Hebrew  children  reacHed  the  Promised 
Land  that  the  children  of  Israel  really  began  to  live. 
They  gained  nothing  from  their  four  hundred  years' 
bondage  in  Egypt;  and  they  seemingly  learned  their 
lessons  slowly  while  in  their  forty  years  wanderings  in 
the  wilderness;  however,  they  kept  their  minds  stayed 
upon  their  desired  destination. 

The  Bible  tells  us  that  of  all  the  vast  throng  who 
started  from  Egypt,  only  two  entered  the  Promised 
Land — Caleb  and  Joshua;  Moses  being  permitted  but  to 
view  it  from  afar.  We  read,  that  Moses  went  to  Mount 
Moab  and  viewed  the  Promised  Land,  and  that  God 
buried  him  there,  and  no  one  has  found  his  grave  unto 
this  day.  Does  the  carnal  man  believe  that  the  Infinite 
God  caused  a  grave  to  be  dug  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth 
to  cover  the  body  of  Moses,  His  servant,  who  had  been 
so  close  to  God  in  consciousness,  that  his  face  shone  so 
bright  with  the  glory  of  God,  that  it  was  necessary  for 
him  to  place  a  veil  over  it  when  he  came  down  from  the 
mountain,  to  teach  the  people  the  great  Truths  God  had 
revealed  to  him  while  he  was  on  the  mountain? 

No !  No !  The  Infinite  God,  our  Father-Mother,  is  so 
great,  that  He  could  hide  him  away  in  the  very  center 
of  His  Heart,  just  before  their  eyes,  and  they  see  him 
not — could  hide  him  away  by  quickening  Moses'  mind, 
Soul  and  body  into  a  higher  rate  of  vibration,  or  by 
merging  him  from  the  vibrations  of  Matter  into  the 
vibrations  of  Spirit,  so  becoming  invisible  to  those  living 
in  the  carnal  state,  and  its  low  vibration.  Just  as  when 
a  wheel  is  turning  slowly,  you  can  discern  the  spokes, 
hub  and  tire,  but  turn  it  faster  and  it  is  difficult  to 
count  the  spokes;  then  turn  it  still  faster  and  you  see 
nothing  but  a  moving  circle  with  no  distinct  features, 
which  have  disappeared  by  raising  their  vibrations. 
There  is  no  mystery  in  this  to  the  man  who  has  attained 
unto  the  Christ-consciousness,  but  a  deep  mystery  to  the 
carnal  man,  because  the  deep  things  of  God  are  as  fool- 
ishness to  him ;  just  as  the  babe  scorns  the  meat  but 


The  Mysteries  of  God  35 

enjoys  the  milk;  but  as  the  babe  grows,  it  too,  learns 
to  partake  of  the  meat  of  the  Word  of  God,  and  lives 
by  it. 

As  we  see  Jerusalem  in  Palestine  rebuilt  by  the  Jews 
who  return  there  (this  being  the  fulfilling  of  the  his- 
torical part  of  the  prophesies  which  were  prophesied  by 
God's  Holy  Men  in  ages  past)  so  the  Spiritual,  or  Eso- 
teric, part  of  those  same  prophesies  will  be  fulfilled  and 
man,  awakening  and  returning  to  his  inheritance,  the 
Christ-Consciousness,  will  assist  in  establishing  the  New 
Jerusalem  upon  earth,  which  is  brought  down  from 
Heaven,  whose  streets  are  paved  with  Love,  and  the  Path 
thereto  is  strewn  with  the  rarest  flowers, — Patience, 
Peace,  Love,  Tenderness. 

When  man  attains  unto  the  full  Christ-Consciousness, 
then  unto  God-Consciousness,  he  sees  and  knows.  He 
then  rests  by  the  side  of  the  River  of  Life,  knowing  the 
Oneness  of  Life,  and  his  at-one-ment  with  God.  Fear 
and  anxiety  have  been  overcome,  as  they  were  some  of 
the  giants  which  were  slain  when  the  Israelites  first  en- 
tered the  Promised  Land. 

In  the  eternal  knowing  of  the  Eternality  of  that  which 
is,  the  Soul  rests  in  Bliss,  filled  with  Ecstasy,  and  moving 
rapidly  on  in  the  Stillness  of  God. 

The  flow^ers  bloom  along  the  path,  the  birds  sing.  The 
serpents  crawl  leisurely  by,  but  he  smiles  as  he  sees  them 
to  be  but  the  symbol  of  Divine  Wisdom.  He  lives  con- 
sciously in  the  Now,  for  ^'Old  things  have  passed  away, 
and  all  things  have  become  new. '  ^  There  is  no  future,  for 
tomorrows  have  ceased  to  be,  as  the  mantle  of  ignorance 
(carnality)  rolled  back;  and  no  yesterdays,  for  the  Light 
of  Illumination  reveals  to  him  that  it  is  Eetrnity  now. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  AGES  THAT  HAVE  PASSED;  AND  THE 

AGES  THAT  ARE  TO  COME.  ETERNITY! 

WHICH  FOREVER  IS 

IN  the  Ages  of  the  past,  the  record  of  which  is  written 
in  the  ether  about  us,  creation  has  been  moving  for- 
ward  on  the  Wheel  of  Carnality.  Men,  one  by  one, 
move  out  from  Paradise  into  the  Garden  of  Eden  Con- 
sciousness, into  the  lower  rate  of  vibration,  which  is  car- 
nality, solve  their  problems  and  pass  onward  into  higher 
states  of  consciousness  and  higher  rates  of  vibration. 
The  harvest  time  of  each  Age  finds  fruit  ready  for  gath- 
ering. 

Ages  come  and  ages  go,  and  have  done  so  for  such  a 
long  span  of  time  that  the  mind  of  man  cannot  compre- 
hend it;  therefore,  we  leave  the  Ages  of  the  Past  and 
carry  our  mind  down  to  the  beginning  of  the  written 
history. 

History  is  the  record  which  is  kept  of  man,  the  world 
and  the  changing  events  as  they  take  place.  There  is  the 
Inner  or  Esoteric  interpretation  to  be  learned  from  each 
historical  event. 

When,  according  to  Genesis  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures, 
man  was  cast  out  from  the  Garden  of  Eden,  he  found 
himself  in  the  carnal  state  and  soon  forgot  the  Bliss  and 
Ecstasy  which  he  had  enjoyed  while  he  was  living  in 
Paradise  before  he  partook  of  the  Fruit  of  the  Tree  of 
Knowledge,  which  Fruit  was  mixed,  being  Good  and 
Evil. 

36 


The  Ages  That  Have  Passed  37 

When  man  dwelt  in  Paradise  he  knew  only  good,  but, 
after  he  had  partaken  of  the  Fruit  which  grew  on  the 
Tree  of  Knowledge,  he  knew  both  Good  and  Evil;  and, 
as  long  as  man  lives  in  carnality,  he  continues  to  recog- 
nize both  Good  and  Evil. 

How  long  will  man  remain  in  carnality?  As  long 
as  he  is  asleep  in  the  Adam-Dream.  We  read  in  Genesis, 
*'A  sleep  came  upon  Adam.^' 

As  long  as  man  lives  in  carnality  he  is  asleep,  and 
birth  and  death,  seed  time  and  harvest  continue  and  the 
Ages  roll  by ;  but  there  will  come  a  time  when  man  will 
awaken  from  this  "Adam  Sleep.'*  We  read  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  ''In  Adam  all  die,  but  in  Jesus  Christ  all  are 
made  alive.*'  Note,  all  who  live  in  Adam  die,  while  all 
who  live  in  Jesus  Christ  are  made  alive.  We  then  can 
clearly  see  that  Adam  represents  the  carnal  state  of  all 
men,  while  Jesus  Christ  represents  the  Redeemed  state 
of  all  men.  To  follow  out  the  logic  of  reason  here,  we  are 
compelled  to  acknowledge  that  none  are  forever  lost. 

What  constitutes  the  lost  estate  of  man?  Carnality. 
As  long  as  man  lives  in  the  carnal  concept  of  himself  and 
of  God  and  the  universe,  he  is  lost  from  the  consciousness 
of  his  true  self  and  his  rightful  inheritance  and  the  cor- 
rect understanding  of  his  Heavenly  Father-Mother-God. 

When  man  awakens  and  begins  to  search,  in  his  effort 
to  know  God,  he  finds  that  many  superstitions  and 
vague  beliefs  have  crept  into  the  different  religions  since 
the  history  of  this  Age  has  been  kept. 

But  the  people  who  now  compose  the  inhabitants  of 
this  earth  are  awakening;  and,  as  the  sun  rises  and 
moves  toward  the  zenith,  mankind  will  be  blessed  with 
the  warmth  and  brightness  therefrom  and  awaken  from 
the  long  sleep  in  carnality.  When  man  is  awake  he  is 
not  asleep ;  one  cannot  be  in  two  states  at  the  same  time. 
When  man  is  fully  awake,  he  smiles  at  the  dreams  of  his 
sleep,  although  they  sometimes  were  so  real  to  him  that 
his  forehead  would  become  moist  with  perspiration,  ex- 
pressive of  his  mental  suffering  from  their  apparent 


38  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

reality.  When  man  is  awake,  he  sees,  thinks,  acts  and 
lives  differently. 

Jesus  Christ,  as  He  stood  on  the  hill-top  looking  down 
over  Jerusalem,  knowing  as  he  did  the  state  of  con- 
sciousness which  the  people  were  in,  exclaimed,  '^Jeru- 
salem !  Jerusalem !  How  oft  would  I  have  gathered  you, 
as  a  hen  gathereth  her  brood,  but  ye  would  not."  They 
were  living  in  the  Adam-State  of  consciousness;  there- 
fore, were  asleep  as  to  the  Spirit  or  Christ  state  of  Con- 
sciousness. 

Jesus  performed  His  works,  which  established  His 
message  so  firmly  upon  earth  that  the  carnal  man  could 
not  destroy  it. 

As  one  by  one  the  men  of  earth  awaken  from  the 
deep  sleep  of  carnality,  they  step  from  among  the  many 
and  take  their  stand  with  the  few.  In  the  closing  of  this 
Age,  many  will  have  crossed  from  the  carnal  concept  to 
the  Divine,  from  the  Adam-Sleep  to  the  Christ- Conscious- 
ness, and  stand  Redeemed  Sons  of  God. 

We  have  in  the  history  of  the  past,  the  records  of  the 
rise  and  fall  of  nations.  Empires  have  come  and  gone ; 
kingdoms  have  been  established  and  stood  for  centuries, 
then  crumbled ;  even  the  crowns  of  the  Kings,  with  their 
rare  gems,  dissolving  into  nothingness,  and  the  place 
that  knew  the  Kings  and  their  subjects,  know  them  no 
more  forever.  Though  the  place  may  not  see  or  know 
them,  it  does  not  signify  that  they  are  not  known; 
because,  throughout  the  endlessness  of  Eternity,  they 
are !  and  are  known  w^herever  they  may  be ;  and  no  one 
is  in  any  place  by  chance ;  but  as  the  seasons  come  and 
go,  so  there  is  the  unerring  Law  of  Cause  and  Effect, 
acting  throughout  carnality;  and  in  this  law,  as  man 
sows  so  he  reaps ;  if  wheat,  he  reaps  wheat ;  if  tares,  he 
reaps  tares.  If  a  man,  through  good  thoughts,  desires 
and  deeds,  lays  up  for  himself  ''Treasures  in  Heaven," 
when  he  comes  to  that  change  on  his  path  called  death 
he  will  find  himself  pleasantly  surrounded  in  that  state, 


TiiE  Ages  That  Have  Passed  39 

which  is  not  known  to  those  still  living  in  the  state  of 
carnal  consciousness  from  which  he  has  just  passed. 

If  man  has  been  so  deeply  engrossed  in  the  carnal 
sleep  that  he  thinks  only  of  self  and  a  desire  to  gratify 
his  own  carnal  appetites  and  passions,  thus  creating 
carnal  thoughts  only,  which  are  of  the  earth,  earthy,  he, 
not  having  sent  forward  anything  to  prepare  a  place  for 
himself,  will  upon  leaving  his  present  tenement  of  clay 
find,  no  doubt,  a  barren  desolation  surrounding  him ; 
but  this  state  is  not  fixed,  only  by  his  own  deeds,  thoughts 
and  desires,  which  have  set  the  Law  of  Cause  and  Effect 
in  operation ;  and,  when  he  reaches  the  place  in  the  Law 
which  requires  it,  he  will  step  from  the  barrenness  of 
desolation  and  again  continue  to  work  at  his  problem ; 
for  no  man  can  fathom  the  deep  for  him  and  none  can 
for  him  pay  his  debts.  The  Law  must  be  observed  ''unto 
the  very  last  farthing." 

Man,  living  in  the  carnal  state,  is  asleep  in  the  Adam 
Dream,  and  as  long  as  he  walks  on  the  carnal  path  he 
earns  his  bread  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow;  and  "women 
bring  forth  children  in  pain  and  in  sorrow. ' ' 

God  told  them  to  be  fruitful  and  multiply  the  earth. 
God's  Divine  Wisdom  knew  that  the  Souls,  as  they  pass 
out  from  Paradise,  required  this  school  of  experience ; 
therefore,  Wisdom  spake  to  the  man  and  woman  who 
were  living  in  the  carnal  state,  to  "Be  fruitful  and  mul- 
tiply upon  the  earth. ' '  Thus  we  can  see  that  God  placed 
no  condemnation  upon  those  who  were  living  in  the  gen- 
eration period  of  their  ongoings  through  experience. 

But,  according  to  the  historical  record,  four  thousand 
years  after  this  command  was  given  to  man  in  his  gen- 
eration period,  Jesus  Christ  came  to  teach  man  how  to 
take  the  step  which  leads  him  from  the  carnal  man's 
concept  unto  the  Christ-man's  concept.  He  said,  "Ye 
must  be  born  again. ' '  Then  it  behooves  the  man  who  is 
awakened  to  search  until  he  understands  what  Jesus 
meant.  We  read,  ' '  In  Adam  all  die ;  but  in  Christ,  alt 
are  made  alive." 


40  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Then  to  understand  and  become  that  which  Jesus 
taught  is  to  pass  from  death  into  life,  from  the  generation 
state  into  the  regeneration  state;  where  old  things  and 
desires  have  passed  away  and  all  things  and  desires  have 
become  new.  When  man  has  entered  into  the  regenera- 
tion state,  he  has  touched,  at  least,  the  hem  of  the  Christ- 
Consciousness  and  begins  to  walk  amidst  new  environ- 
ments, even  though  he  may  remain  in  the  same  place. 
He  is  then  on  the  high  and  holy  way.  Isaiah  said,  as 
the  voice  of  the  Father  spake  through  his  lips,  "I  will 
lead  you  by  a  way  ye  know  not. ' '  Also,  ' '  But  they  that 
wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  renew  their  strength ;  they  shall 
mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles ;  they  shall  run  and  not 
be  weary;  and  they  shall  walk  and  not  faint." — Isaiah 
40 :31. 

In  Eternity  there  are  no  Ages  or  cycles  or  kalpas,  as 
the  events  cast  no  shadow ;  for  behold,  the  *  *  Light  of  God 
is  there."  God  is  that  Light  and  that  Light  is  God ;  and, 
in  the  Eternity  which  is,  darkness  cannot  enter. 

It  is  in  the  carnal  man's  concept  and  world  only  that 
the  curtains  of  night  roll  down  and  cause  darkness  to 
overspread  mountains,  plains  and  seas,  that  the  rush  and 
turmoil  may  cease  and  the  carnal  man  find  rest  for  a  few 
hours,  until  the  Law  of  Nature  causes  the  curtains  of 
morning  to  be  draped  aside  and  the  golden  rays  of  the 
sun  brighten  the  earth  and  humanity  again. 

After  man  has  the  Christ- Consciousness  and  has  sub- 
dued the  giants  who  endeavor  to  prevent  him  from  occu- 
pying it,  then  he  lays  down  his  cross;  he  has  carried  it 
unto  the  final  victory  and  leaves  it  upon  Calvary ;  and  he 
moves  on,  in  the  consciousness,  either  faint  or  great, 
according  to  his  faith  and  understanding  of  that  which 
Jesus  Christ  had,  and  which  He  came  to  earth  to  give. 

A  thousand  deaths  of  the  body  can  never  touch  the 
Soul.  What  is  the  Soul?  ** Conscious  Life,"  which  is 
forever  At-one  with  God,  the  Father;  therefore,  it  is 
forever  conscious  of  Eternity. 


The  Ages  That  Have  Passed  41 

Let  the  reader,  who  has  awakened  sufficiently  to  rec- 
ognize Eternity,  pause  for  a  few  moments  and  you  may 
comprehend  that  Eternity  is!  even  though  time  seems 
ever  to  be.  The  only  way  man  can  understand  this  is  to 
unwind  the  skein  and  patiently  undo  the  snarls  from 
his  mentality.  What  are  the  snarls  which  have  accumu- 
lated in  man's  mentality?  The  false  beliefs  of  the  race 
which  form  the  carnal  mind  and  cause  ignorance  and 
superstition  to  abound. 

"When  Gautama  Buddha,  the  Hindu  Seer,  began  to 
awaken,  he  observed  the  conditions  those  about  him  were 
in  and  inquired  of  his  father,  the  King,  the  cause  of  these 
conditions ;  but  the  King  could  not  answer,  even  though 
he  were  King  and  filling  the  highest  position  that  carnal- 
ity can  bestow,  for  he  was  living  in  the  carnal  concept 
only. 

Gautama  Buddha,  in  the  seven  years  of  solitude,  in 
meditation  and  communion  with  God,  learned  the  cause 
of  the  condition  the  people  were  in,  and  a  message  of 
Truth  was  revealed  to  him  similar  in  many  particulars 
to  that  which  was  given  centuries  after  through  the  lips 
of  the  Nazarene  Master.  The  Infinite,  our  Father,  our 
Creator,  inspired  Gautama  Buddha  to  give  the  message 
which  the  people  could  grasp  and  assimilate,  and  which 
would  assist  them  in  their  Spiritual  unfoldment,  and  the 
awakened  ones  in  this  age  can  glean  some  rare  gems  and 
valuable  nuggets  from  his  teachings. 

Jesus  Christ  came  later  with  a  deeper  interpretation 
of  the  Truth,  and  gave  forth  His  message,  that  the  men 
of  earth  may  find  their  way  out  from  the  tangled  con- 
fusion in  which  the  carnal  man  finds  himself. 

What  is  the  Truth  which  Jesus  said  was  necessary  for 
man  to  know  ?  He  said,  "  I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth  and 
the  light ; "  "  I  and  my  Father  are  one ;  but  the  Father  is 
greater  than  I ;''  and  when  he,  from  His  Christ  Hlumined 
concept,  looked  at  man  clothed  with  the  carnal  mind  and 
embodied  in  matter,  he  answered  Nicodemus,  who  repre- 


42  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

sents  the  awakening  period  of  the  carnal  man,  by  telling 
him,  ' '  Ye  must  be  born  again. ' ' 

The  different  births  into  the  bodies  of  flesh,  it  matters 
not,  if  they  be  one  or  many,  count  as  naught ;  (for  noth- 
ing is  gained)  as  pertaining  to  the  Soul's  unfoldment, 
until  man  awakens.  We  read  that  Nicodemus  went  to 
Jesus  at  night.  The  esoteric,  or  Spiritual  meaning, 
applicable  to  each  one,  is,  that  they  are  in  dark- 
ness when  they  awaken,  and,  being  filled  with  fear,  desire 
to  ascertain  the  Truth  without  attracting  attention. 
Jesus  saw  the  state  of  concept  Nicodemus  was  in  when  he 
came  to  Him  under  cover  of  night,  but  he  also  saw  the 
awakening  Soul  and  gave  him  such  a  strong  revelation 
of  the  Truth,  that  it  startled  him,  and  he  asked,  "How 
can  a  man  enter  the  second  time  into  his  mother's 
womb?"  He  was  looking  from  the  carnal  concept  of 
himself  and  was  judging  by  carnality 's  laws ;  but  Jesus 
said  to  him,  ''Ye  must  be  born  from  above,"  showing  that 
this  birth  is  distinct  and  apart  from  carnality's  ways. 
After  man  receives  the  New  Birth,  he  begins  to  walk  on 
another  Path,  and  it  is  called  the  Christ,  or  Spiritual 
Path. 

On  the  Christ-Path,  man  meets  and  masters  every  op- 
posing foe  with  Love,  in  Faith  and  Devotion  to  God. 
Here  is  where  we  remember  that  Jesus  said : ' '  The  Father 
and  I  are  one;  but  the  Father  is  greater  than  I."  It  is 
on  the  Christ-Path  that  man  learns  to  recognize  Eternity. 
Then  he  begins  to  understand  time.  When  man  has  moved 
far  enough  along  the  Christ-Path,  to  come  into  the  full 
Christ-consciousness,  he  understands  that  time  belongs 
to  carnality  only ;  and,  as  long  as  man  lives  in  the  Adam- 
Sleep  of  carnality,  he  registers  time  in  his  mentality  and 
it  outpictures  in  old  age,  decrepitude,  poverty  and  death. 
This  is  the  carnal  man's  belief;  and  one  of  God's  chosen 
instruments  in  the  past  has  said,  "As  a  man  thinketh  in 
his  heart,  so  is  he ;"  but  from  the  full  understanding  that 
is  the  Christ-concept,  he  sees  Eternity  as  it  is,  one  un- 
broken Eternity;  he,  then,  knowing  this  to  be  the  Truth, 


The  Ages  That  Have  Passed  43 

walks  in  the  understanding  of  the  Eternal  Now.  When 
man  comes  to  this  comprehension  of  Eternity,  he  will 
more  clearly  understand  God,  Aum,  and  even  reason 
will  say,  he  then  necessarily  will  accordingly  understand 
himself. 

What  is  this  "himself"  of  man,  which  he  will  under- 
stand when  he  has  moved  on  the  Christ-Path  into  Christ- 
Consciousness  ?  It  is,  that  man,  whom  ''God  created  in 
His  Image  and  Likeness,"  has  never  been  touched  or 
changed  by  the  births  and  deaths  in  carnality ;  and  that 
man,  ''Who  never  was  born,  will  never  die." 

We  read,  ' '  In  the  beginning  God  was  all  and  there  was 
none  beside  Him."  The  reason  does  not  require  a  very 
great  range  to  come  to  the  conclusion  that  man  was 
created  perfect.  We  hear  St.  Paul  saying,  "Man  was 
created  upright,  but  man  has  sought  out  many  inven- 
tions. ' '  This  perfect  man  is  an  individualized  manifesta- 
tion of  the  One  God.  Why  is  this  so?  Because  God  is 
All !    and  there  is  none  beside  Him. 

This  individualized  manifestation  of  God,  called  man, 
has  a  perfect  form,  composed  of  the  one  substance — God- 
Spirit-Essence,  the  One  Life  pulsating  through  it  and  the 
Breath  of  the  Almight}^  the  One  God,  breathing  through 
it  in  rhythm  and  harmony. 

As  the  Infinite  breathes.  He  breathes  through  the 
earth,  the  air,  the  water,  and  through  all  contained 
therein,  and  each  expression  of  Himself  vibrates  in  uni- 
son with  the  Holy  Breath,  according  to  its  degree  of  ex- 
pression. 

There  are  the  minerals,  rocks  and  earth  which  the 
carnal  man  considers  inanimate ;  hoAvever,  they  are  ani- 
mate, because  the  Breath  of  the  Infinite  breathes  them, 
and  they  are  living  and  intelligent.  The  reason  asks, 
"How  could  it  be  otherwise,  when  God  is  Life  and  Intel- 
ligence and  fills  all  Space  ? "  If  God  fills  all  Space,  then 
true  it  is,  that  the  mind  cannot  conceive  of  a  place  where 
God  is  not. 


44  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

This  recognition  of  the  Alhiess  and  Nearness  of  God 
comes  to  the  one  who  has  awakened  and,  like  Nicodemus, 
sought  out  Jesus  Christ,  the  Truth,  and  inquired  the 
"VYay, —  to  the  one  who  has  accepted  the  instructions  and 
been  born  again  and  is  walking  on  the  Christ-Path  unto 
full  Illumination. 

In  the  early  morning  of  Jehovah's  dealings  with  the 
Hebrew  children,  the  mist  hung  low  and  damp ;  the  cur- 
tains of  night  had  only  slightly  been  raised.  In  this  cold 
and  dampness  of  the  early  morning,  it  was  not  possible 
for  them  to  see  clearly ;  therefore,  they  believed  in  their 
misunderstanding  of  God,  that  He,  Aum,  was  far  away 
from  them  and  was  ruling  with  a  rod  of  iron  from  the 
wrath  within  Him. 

After  the  Hebrew  children  had  been  four  hundred 
or  more  years  in  bondage  in  Egypt,  God  raised  up  Moses, 
whom  Jehovah  had  caused  to  take  birth  and  to  pass 
through  the  experiences  which  caused  him  to  awaken  and 
turn  aside  when  he  observed  that  the  fire  did  not  consume 
the  bush.  Then  the  voice  of  God  spake,  and  this  is  what 
it  said:  ''Take  off  thy  shoes  from  off  thy  feet,  for  the 
place  whereon  thou  standeth  is  Holy  Ground.'*  Moses 
moved  from  that  time  forward,  doing  the  work  which 
the  Father  desired  him  to  do,  unto  Mount  Horab,  and  we 
read,  ''God  buried  him." 

The  Infinite  has  wisely  dealt  with  the  children  of 
earth  through  each  Age  of  the  earth's  ongoings.  Each 
Age  has  its  seasons,  which  may  extend  into  thousands 
and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  years,  which  correspond  to 
the  seasons  of  the  year  which  are  reckoned  as  Springtime, 
Summer,  Autumn  and  "Winter.  As  each  year  has  its 
seed-time  and  harvest,  so  each  Age  has  its  seed-time  and 
harvest. 

What  is  the  harvest  time  of  the  Ages  as  they  roll  by, 
being  composed  of  cycle  after  cycle?  It  is  the  Christ- 
Consciousness,  the  Promised  Land;  and  all  who  are  ripe 
upon  the  Tree  of  Carnality,  at  the  ripening  season,  will 


The  Ages  That  Have  Passed  45 

be  gathered  into  the  fold  of  full  Illumination  in  Mind, 
Soul  and  Body,  and  stand  forth  redeemed,  redeemed  by 
the  Blood  of  the  Lamb,  which  is  Wisdom,  Love  and 
Power,    Amen ! 

Eternity,  yes!  Then  the  redeemed  one  knows  of  a 
surety  that  Eternity  is.  Time  has  ceased  to  be.  He 
knows  and  recognizes  Eternity  only.  He  has  long  since 
ceased  to  eat  of  the  Fruit  of  the  Tree  of  Knowledge 
which  he  found  on  the  border  line  of  Paradise,  called  the 
Garden  of  Eden.  This  Fruit  is  mixed.  Good  and  Evil, 
and,  as  long  as  man  eats  of  it,  his  experiences  are  good 
and  evil,  joy  and  sorrow,  health  and  disease,  life  and 
death ;  and  man  swings,  as  a  pendulum,  between  pleasant 
and  unpleasant  experiences  and  environments,  until  his 
very  Soul  cries  out  for  a  way  of  escape.  No  Soul  is  left 
long  in  doubt  and  despair  after  they  earnestly  call  for 
knowledge  and  guidance. 

As  the  gardener  waters  and  tends  the  trees,  he  has  no 
thought  of  criticism  or  condemnation  toward  the  fruit, 
because  he  understands  the  law  governing  it.  Therefore, 
well  does  he  know,  that  in  the  fullness  of  time,  the  Laws 
of  Nature  will  express  and  the  fruit  will  appear.  Some 
of  it  is  perfect  and  ripens  early ;  some  is  not  ripe  even 
when  the  frosts  of  winter  come.  The  gardener  gathers 
the  fruit  and  places  it  in  the  grade  to  which  it  belongs 
and  continues  to  tend  and  care  for  the  orchard,  because 
he  knows  that  another  season  will  come,  and  after  the 
wintry  blasts  have  ceased,  blossoms  will  appear  to  assure 
him  that  there  will  be  fruit.  What  of  the  fruit?  It  has 
moved  on,  having  been  freed  from  the  human  tree 
through  knowledge  and  understanding,  and,  having  come 
into  the  Christ-consciousness,  is  no  more  concerned  with 
that  which  is  taking  place  in  the  orchard,  where  the  sea- 
sons come  and  go. 

This  man  has  passed  from  one  concept  to  another ;  and 
man  in  the  Christ-Consciousness  glides  placidly  along 
through  green  fields,  by  the  side  of  the  River  of  Life, 
and  rests  in  the  cool  shade  of  the  trees  which  are  there. 


46  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

In  the  Christ-Concept,  Compassion,  Kindness  and  Ten- 
derness for  their  fellow  man  dwells ;  and,  in  this  state  of 
insight,  man  is  more  willing  to  serve  than  to  be  served. 

This  consciousness,  being  established  first  in  the  few, 
then  in  the  many,  will  usher  in  the  millennium,  which 
has  even  now  crossed  over  the  threshold  and  will  finally 
touch  and  enter  the  consciousness  of  all  men.  This  is  the 
Day,  the  thousand  years  of  peace,  which  is  to  reign  upon 
the  earth,  and  this  is  the  Morning. 

The  door  of  the  races  is  opened  and  many  have  come 
through  and  are  now  living  consciously  in  the  Christ- 
Consciousness. 

It  is  Eternity  Now!  Look  up,  all  ye  awakened,  and 
gird  on  your  breast-plate  of  righteousness  and  be  shod 
with  the  sandals  of  Good  works.  Let  not  the  evening 
shadows  gather!  But  stand  thou  firm  in  the  noonday 
sun.  It  is  when  the  sun  has  reached  its  zenith,  that  the 
glory  of  the  Son  of  Righteousness  is  seen  and  felt,  and, 
if  man  stands  clear  and  strong,  he  will  see  himself  the 
perfect  expression  of  the  Living  God,  clothed  with  a  pure 
Spirit-Substance-Body,  with  the  conscious  Life  of  God 
flowing  through  it,  tlie  Intelligence  of  God  expressing 
in  it  and  the  Breath  of  God,  Aum,  breathing  it. 

''Look  up !  0,  ye  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  and  rejoice ! 
For  behold,  thy  redemption  draweth  nigh." 

Yea,  the  mountains  will  tremble  as  sandhills,  the  plains 
bloom  as  a  garden  of  roses,  and  the  seas  will  give  forth 
islands,  in  these  latter  days.  Be  not  dismayed,  for  the 
cycle  has  come  to  its  close,  and  the  new  day  has  even 
now  dawned! 

Stand  up  !  ye  awakened  one,  and  fear  not,  for  the  prom- 
ise is,  ' '  Not  even  a  hair  of  your  head  shall  be  harmed, ' ' 
and  the  Psalmist  said,  speaking  from  a  glimpse  of  the 
Christ-Consciousness,  ''A  thousand  may  fall  at  thy  side, 
and  ten  thousand  at  thy  right  hand ;  but  it  shall  not  come 
nigh  thee." 

Arise,  and  rejoice !  the  day  is  at  hand,  and  go  forth  in 


The  Ages  That  Have  Passed  47 

Love,  Trust,  Peace,  Tenderness  and  Brotherly  Kindness 
to  assist  your  fellow  man  who  as  yet  knows  not  the  way. 

It  is  at  first  an  uninteresting  Path  in  appearance  to 
them ;  but  tell  them  that  it  leadeth  to  the  City  of  God, 
the  New  Jerusalem,  which  lieth  Four  Square  upon  Mount 
Zion,  clear,  crystal  and  pure,  and  none  can  enter  there 
'''That  defileth  or  maketh  a  lie."  It  is  the  Holy  City, 
where  the  "Christ-anointed"  dwell,  and  sing  the  glad 
Hosannas  to  the  King. 

In  the  joyousness  of  being  at  Home  in  the  Father's 
House  again,  from  whence  man  departed  in  the  long  ago, 
his  heart  is  melted  into  "Molten  Gold,"  and  the  golden 
glow  of  Love  Divine  vibrates  through  every  form  and 
through  Heaven  itself,  which  is  within  all  and  without 
all ;  for  it  envelopes  the  Whole. 

Joy,  Ecstasy  and  Bliss  abound. 
And  Love,  God,  reigns  supreme. 
This  is  the  Promised  Land,  Caanan ! 
It  is  the  Christ- Consciousness ! 

There  are  no  strivings,  nor  sorrows ; 
For  these  have  passed  away. 
There  are  no  yesterdays,  nor  tomorrows: 
For  these  have  ceased  to  be. 

It  is  Eternity !  It  is  Life  Eternal.  This  is  the  Truth 
which  Jesus  Christ  proclaimed:  "This  is  to  know  Thee, 
the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  Thou  hast 
sent." 

The  Ages  come  and  go,  but  Eternity  is  not  touched  or 
disturbed  by  them;  just  as  we  see  the  soft  white  fleecy 
clouds  on  a  June  day  float  along,  but  they  do  not  touch 
or  disturb  the  deep  blue  canopy  above. 

Eternity  is !  Let  all  stand  in  the  concept  thereof  and 
not  be  disturbed  by  the  clouds  of  carnality.  Abide  in  the 
Christ- Consciousness,  and  you  are  forever  in  Eternity. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  GREATNESS  AND  SMALLNESS  OF  GOD 

THE  finite  man,  through  the  education  he  has  re- 
ceived can  readily  recognize  and  endeavor  to  com- 
prehend the  Greatness  of  God.  This  is  as  it  should 
be,  but  it  is  impossible  for  the  finite  man  to  know  God's 
Greatness,  because  the  finite  is  limited,  while  God's 
Greatness  is  limitless.  If  man  is  to  know  the  vastness  of 
God's  limitlessness,  it  is  necessary  that  he  understand 
God,  and,  when  man  understands  God,  he  may  perceive 
His  Greatness. 

We  will  endeavor  to  carry  man,  whose  mind  has  begun 
to  open,  into  the  Mysteries  of  God,  which  compose  a  part 
of  His  Greatness.  We  will  use  the  sublime  name  of  our 
Father-Mother,  in  the  Impersonal,  Aum,  which  is  Light, 
Life,  Love,  Truth,  Peace,  Harmony,  Power  and  Intelli- 
gence. These  are  Infinite,  and  therefore,  fill  all  space, 
and  are  the*  *  All-knowing,  All-seeing,  All-acting  and 
Eternal  Being,  which  is!"  and  the  highest,  most  com- 
plete and  perfect  name  the  men  of  earth  can  utter  for 
this  Impersonal  Presence  is  Aum.  If  this  Name,  and  the 
Being  which  It  is  and  represents  to  man  is  understood, 
it  will  never  be  used  lightly,  but  with  reverence  and 
appreciation,  and  will  be  considered  Sacred. 

Let  man  turn  his  eyes  to  the  starry  bedecked  dome 
on  a  night  when  the  atmosphere  is  clear,  and  study  it 
for  a  time.  He  will  see  star  after  star  appear  which  was 
not  visible  when  he  first  began  to  search  in  the  vastness 
of  the  blue  dome  above  him.  If  a  man 's  sight  were  such 
that  he  could  look  down  at  his  feet  and  through  the  earth, 
he  would  see  a  star-set  dome,  blue,  deep  and  clear. 

48 


The  Greatness  and  Smallness  op  God         49 

Aum  fills  all  space,  and  He  is  so  great,  that  He  extends 
far  beyond  the  finite  man's  comprehension.  To  perceive 
the  Greatness  of  God,  the  finite  man  must  burst  in  twain 
the  veil,  which  hangs  between  the  finite  mind  in  man  and 
the  God-mind.  This  is  accomplished  through  *' Asking, 
seeking  and  knocking."  One  of  God's  wisest  ones  gave 
this  key  to  the  men  of  earth,  who  were  living  in  the 
carnal  concept  of  themselves  and  the  universe.  He  is 
known  as  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth. 

As  man  looks  at  the  dome  above  him  which  is  dark, 
blue  and  deep,  he  at  first  sees  only  a  few  stars,  the  most 
brilliant  ones.  As  he  admires  these  and  feels  a  stillness 
creep  into  his  mind,  he  is  filled  with  the  joy  one  feels 
in  the  admiration  of  the  beauties  of  nature;  but,  as  he 
beholds,  star  after  star  appears  to  his  vision  until  there 
seems  to  be  no  vacant  place,  so  many  and  near  are  they, 
and  all  vibrant  with  life.  He  then  perceives  the  great- 
ness of  God's  Creation. 

Why  do  we  assert  that  every  star  is  vibrant  with  life  ? 
Because  God,  Aum,  is  there,  and  they  have  their  being  in 
Aum.  "We  will  repeat,  Aum  is  the  Impersonal  God. 
Those  stars,  which  are  visible  to  the  eye  of  the  finite  man, 
belong  to  the  system  to  which  this  earth  belongs.  Let  the 
mind  extend  still  further  in  imagination  into  the  next 
system  of  universes  to  this  in  which  the  earth  exists, 
which  is  a  group  of  planets,  expressed  as  stars ;  then  on  to 
the  systems  of  universes  beyond  these ;  then  on,  and  on, 
ad  infinitum.  This  gives  the  finite  mind  a  faint  glimpse 
of  the  Greatness  of  God. 

Let  us  dwell  for  a  short  time  in  stillness,  reverence  and 
appreciation  in  the  presence  of  this  Great  Presence  and 
look  into  It,  which  is,  always  was,  and  ever  will  be — 
Aum !  As  man  looks  at  the  stars  which  form  a  part  of 
this  system  of  universes  to  which  the  earth  belongs,  and 
far  out,  yet  near,  into  the  mysteries  of  God  and  into  the 
vastness  of  God,  while  star  after  star  reveals  its  presence 
to  him,  then  he  will  perceive  that  each  and  every  star, 
be  they  far  or  near,  are  an  expression  of,  and  in  Aum. 


50  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

What  is  Aum?  It  is  the  presence  of  that  which  Is. 
This  presence  is  Life,  Light,  Love,  Intelligence,  Power 
and  Omnipresence,  If  one  will  follow  this  explanation  of 
Aum,  they  cannot  conceive  of  a  place  where  God  is  not. 
Then  is  it  not  easy  to  perceive  that  man,  as  well  as  the 
stars,  universes  and  systems  of  universes,  lives  and  moves 
and  has  his  being  in  this  Omnipresence?  and  that  man, 
''The  Image  and  Likeness  of  God,*'  is  as  inseparable 
from  this  Presence  as  the  ray  is  from  the  sun  ? 

The  aspect  of  Aum,  known  as  Intelligence,  is  limitless ; 
and  so  great  and  clear  that  it  recognizes  and  operates 
through  the  minutest  things,  even  down  to  the  one-hun- 
dredth-thousandth part  of  an  atom,  to  the  governing, 
forming  and  moving  of  the  universes  and  systems  of 
universes;  and  to  the  various  degrees  of  expressions  be- 
tween these.  Verily  it  could  not  be  that  even  a  * '  Spar- 
row could  fall  to  the  ground  without  His  notice. ' ' 

Love,  being  another  aspect  of  Aum,  is  as  limitless, 
boundless  and  deep  as  Infinity !  For  lo,  it  is  God.  Love 
is  the  Law  of  Gravitation.  Love  stoops  low  and  kisses 
the  feet  of  the  expressions  of  Aum ;  and  it  matters  not  to 
Infinite  Love,  if  it  is  the  bowels  of  the  earth ;  the  feet 
of  man ;  or  the  snow-capped  tops  of  great  mountains ;  or 
the  sweet  scented  flowers  which  are  hid  away  in  the 
mountain  canyons,  surrounded  with  the  beautiful  ferns 
and  brambles ;  the  daisies,  growing  by  the  roadside ;  or 
the  sweet  smelling  rose  that  grows  in  the  cultivated  gar- 
dens ;  or  the  innocent  babe  as  it  coos  in  its  mother's  arms ; 
or  man,  in  all  the  concepts  of  himself.  Love  loves  all 
expressions !  for  Love  is  God,  Love  is  Aum,  and  is  every- 
where throughout  the  boundlessness  of  Space. 

Love  embraces  all  in  one  unbroken  and  endless  caress, 
and  Love's  love  is  so  great  that  it  will  finally  draw  all 
mankind  to  itself,  as  the  magnet  attracts  the  iron  to 
itself.  As  the  magnet  draws  only  the  objects  of  like  sub- 
stance and  quality,  so  Love  will  draw  love. 

Love  is  the  brightest  gem  in  the  diadem  of  Heaven, 


The  Greatness  and  Smallness  op  God         51 

and  the  greatest  in  the  Systems  of  Universes,  the  Sun, 
the  Son,  Aum,  God.    Amen ! 

As  we  view  Aum  from  all  aspects,  we  see  that  Light  is 
another  portion  of  the  Great  All.  It  is  easier  for  the 
mind  of  man  to  comprehend  light  and  the  Greatness  of 
light,  perhaps,  than  the  other  aspects  which  we  have 
analyzed,  because  man  sees  and  recognizes  the  light  of  the 
solar  sun.  Light  being  God,  it  is  Omnipresent.  Then 
we  can  see  that  Light  exists  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth. 
This  the  reason  cannot  gainsay,  as  Light  being  God,  it 
fills  all  space.  On  the  surface  of  the  earth.  Light  and 
Love  join  hands  to  bless  the  different  expressions  of 
Life;  therefore,  we  see  the  green  grass,  the  beautiful 
flowers,  trees,  grain  and  fruit.  This  outer  mantle  which 
we  see  spread  about  us  everywhere,  in  the  desert,  the 
plain,  the  valley,  the  mountain  top  or  the  ocean  depth, 
is  what  man  calls  nature ;  but,  in  reality,  is  the  * '  Outer 
mantle  of  God.*'  If  man  has  the  Light  of  God  in  his 
mind  and  heart,  he  will  look  through  nature,  *  *  The  Man- 
tle,'' unto  God,  the  One,  the  Cause. 

A  recognition  of  the  Truth  does  not  cause  man  to  de- 
preciate nature,  but  to  appreciate  it  with  understanding. 
Then  man  will  reach  forth  his  hand  to  touch  and  caress 
the  mountains,  trees,  valleys,  plains,  deserts  and  oceans ; 
because  he  understands  that  Aum  fills  all  Space. 

This  is  not  Pantheism,  because  we  set  forth  the  dis- 
tinction between  nature  and  God,  and  show  that  nature 
is  only  the  outer  garment  of  God.  But,  with  clear  in- 
sight, we  tread  lightly  upon  the  weeds,  grass  and  pebbles 
along  the  side  of  our  path,  because  we  perceive  that  their 
primal  substance  is  the  One  Substance,  which  is  Spir- 
itual-Essence, and  of  which  the  Universes  and  all  forms, 
including  man,  are  composed.  Man,  being  the  **  Crown- 
ing glory  of  God,"  is  endued  with  divine  dominion  to 
walk  in  the  Great  Garden  of  God  (the  whole  earth),  to 
gather  the  flowers,  which  represent  the  smiles  and  Love 
of  God,  to  sow  and  harvest  the  grain,  to  plant  the  vine 
and  gather  its  fruits. 


52  The  Flashlights  of  Trutpi 

Man  is  permitted  to  play  in  this  beautiful  garden  (the 
whole  earth)  by  Infinite  Love;  and  when  man  under- 
stands that  Aum  caused  the  earth  to  take  form  and 
finally  become  beautiful  for  man  to  dwell  upon,  and, 
through  Spiritual  Insight,  perceive  that  it  is  the  Garden 
of  Eden,  he  will  begin  to  look  about ;  and,  then,  he  will 
discern  the  beauties,  which  in  the  mantle  of  nature  are 
spread  everywhere.  In  this  State  of  Illumination  man 
will  humbly  bow  his  head  and  look  upon  all  as  Sacred. 
And  know  that  God  continues  to  breathe  and  caress  all. 

Life  is  another  aspect  of  the  Impersonal  God,  and,  the 
same  as  Light,  Love  and  Intelligence,  fills  all  space. 
Then  let  man  raise  his  eye  and  look  out,  over  and  through 
them.  We  see  that  there  is  no  place  where  Life  is  not, 
because  it  is  Omnipresent,  limitless  and  boundless. 

With  this  definition  of  Life  before  us,  let  us  look  at 
nature,  and  see  what  it  really  is.  We  find  that  it  is  an 
expression  of  Life,  and  that  it  is  everywhere.  We  also 
find  that  nature  expresses  in  the  tiniest  forms,  as  well 
as  the  largest.  We  can  see  that  the  Life  which  is  Aum 
expresses  through  every  expression.  ''From  the  least 
even  unto  the  greatest."  Then  we  see  that  God  as  Life, 
is  in  every  living  thing.  Because  there  is  but  one  Life 
and  it  fills  all  space,  and  is  God,  it  cannot  be  broken, 
crushed,  divided  nor  destroyed.  It  is  the  primal,  the 
First  Cause,  the  One, — Aum. 

Life  manifests  itself  in  every  atom  of  earth.  Yea, 
throughout  the  bowels  of  the  whole  earth  Life  is,  and 
manifests;  but  man  does  not  comprehend  it  so  keenly 
as  he  does  in  the  next  plane,  which  is  the  earth's  surface. 
It  does  not  require  argument  to  convince  man  that  life 
is  in  the  grass,  trees,  vegetable,  animals,  fowls  and  man ; 
but  it  may  require  strong  logic  to  convince  some 
states  of  mind  that  Life  expresses,  even  though  feebly, 
through  low  vibrations,  in  the  minerals,  rocks,  sand  and 
earth.  However,  this  is  true,  because,  if  Life  fills  all 
space,  is  undisturbed  and  indivisible,  it  could  not  be  oth- 
erwise. 


The  Greatness  and  Smallness  of  God         53 

Life  is  that  unchangeable  and  unbroken  thing,  which 
is,  forever  was  and  will  never  cease  to  be.  There  is  no 
way  of  escape  from  Life,  because  it  is  God  and  fills  all 
space.  Life  is  Eternality,  and  is  without  beginning  or 
end.  Life  is  constantly  manifesting  through  the  expres- 
sions of  God ;  therefore,  we  discern  that  Life  is  action  and 
that  action  is  the  manifestation  of  Life. 

Power  is  another  aspect  of  the  Great  First  Cause  which 
is  the  Impersonal  God. 

With  all  the  aspects  of  God  combined,  even  God  Him- 
self would  have  remained  in  repose  or  unmanifest,  with- 
out the  Power  to  express.  Viewing  Power  from  this 
standpoint,  we  see  how  important  it  is,  even  to  God. 
Power  is  as  Eternal  as  God,  for  God  is  Power.  If  God 
is  Power,  it  fills  all  space.  We  see  that  this  must  neces- 
sarily be  true,  for  it  holds  the  universes  in  their  place, 
supports  the  little  feathers  as  they  move  through  the  air, 
and  sustains  the  snowflakes  as  they  gracefully  move  from 
the  realms  above  and  settle  so  daintily  on  house-tops, 
mountains  and  trees. 

There  is  but  one  Power.  How  do  we  know  this  to  be 
true  ?    God  is  All !    There  is  none  beside  Him ! 

When  man  manifests  Power,  it  is  from  God.  If  he  uses 
this  Power  for  good,  it  is  in  the  Will  of  the  All- Wise  One ; 
but,  if  man  under  the  influence  of  his  carnal  mind  per- 
verts its  use,  it  is  in  his  self-will  and  the  results  are  ac- 
cording to  the  use  to  which  he  has  put  the  Power.  How- 
ever, there  is  one  Power,  and  when  man  comes  into  the 
Illumination,  which  brings  him  into  the  **  Glorious  lib- 
erty of  the  sons  of  God,"  he  will  have  only  one  desire 
and  that  will  be  to  use  the  God-Power,  which  God  ex- 
tends to  him,  only  for  good;  and  this  good  will  be  to 
benefit  mankind. 

The  Power  remains  the  One  Power,  God's  Power,  and 
man's  perverse  usage  of  it  cannot  defile  or  weaken  it  in 
the  least. 

When  man  in  the  finite  state  learns  the  truth  about 
Power,  and  of  its  ever-presence,  if  he  will  ask  of  the 


54  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Father,  he  will  come  into  the  understanding  which  will 
enable  him  to  use  it  intelligently  for  good  at  all  times 
and  in  all  places.  The  Power  is  limitless,  so  that  man 
will  have  unlimited  power  when  he  understands  that 
Power  is  God ;  and  man,  a  manifestation  of  God  . 

The  Grace  of  God  is  limitless  and  boundless.  It,  also, 
fills  all  space,  for,  behold,  God  *s  favor  is  everywhere ;  and 
it  is  so  responsive  to  the  call  of  the  men  of  earth,  that 
none  can  fall  so  low  or  sink  into  a  depth  so  deep,  but 
that  if  they  call  to  the  Father-Mother-God,  His  grace 
is  extended.  That  grace  is  so  great  that  it  can  bind  up 
the  broken  heart,  cheer  the  faint,  strengthen  the  weak 
and  remove  ignorance  and  superstition.  Oh!  that  man 
more  clearly  understood  the  Greatness  and  Nearness  of 
the  Grace  of  God. 

Harmony,  which  is  another  aspect  of  the  Infinite,  fills 
all  space.  It  dwells  here  in  the  center  and  reaches  unto 
the  utmost  bounds,  though  in  reality  there  are  no  bounds. 
It  is  only  the  mind  of  the  earth-man  which  conceives 
limitations. 

What  is  Harmony?  It  is  that  intertwining  of  the 
Love,  Life,  Light,  Power  and  Intelligence  of  God  into 
such  Rhythm  that  it  is  breathed  by  the  Breath  of  God 
and  a  Harmonious  Rhythm  permeates  the  Whole.  Har- 
mony is  God,  because  it  belongs  in  the  Impersonal  God 
which  is  the  First  Cause.  Harmony,  therefore,  dwells 
in  the  God-Head. 

Without  Harmony  the  expressions  of  God  would  man- 
ifest a  confused  state  and  creation  would  become  a  ming- 
ling mass  of  confusing  contradicitons  from  the  little 
atoms  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth  to  the  oceans  and  the 
universes ;  but  Harmony,  being  a  Law  of  God,  is  Eternal, 
is  unchangeable ;  therefore,  never  disturbed.  The  form- 
ing or  unforming  of  a  world  does  not  even  touch  dis- 
turbingly the  Law  of  Harmony;  for,  if  the  Infinite 
Intelligence  causes  the  forming  of  a  world,  it  is  done  in 
harmony.  If  it  causes  the  unforming  of  a  world,  it  is 
done  in  harmony. 


The  Greatness  and  Smallness  op  God         55 

The  disturbances  in  the  minds  of  men,  in  the  nations, 
in  the  earth,  air  or  water  do  not  so  much  as  touch  Har- 
mony, although  it  is  ever-present  and  fills  all  space.  The 
finite  mind  of  man  will  question  ' '  how  this  can  be  ? "  but 
doubt  does  not  disturb  the  unbroken  Law  of  that 
which  IS. 

Man  sometimes  says,  "In  the  midst  of  Life,  there  is 
death,"  and  *'In  the  midst  of  Harmony  there  is  dis- 
cord." 

Death  has  never  touched  Life,  and  never  will!  Dis- 
cord has  never  touched  Harmony,  and  never  will !  Strike 
as  many  discordant  notes  as  ignorance,  or  the  self-will, 
desires  and  listen  until  you  grow  weary  of  the  discord- 
ant sounds,  and,  even  there,  Harmony  abounds;  and  all 
that  is  necessary  is  to  strike  the  correct  key,  and  Har- 
mony responds;  and,  if  man  will  continue  to  touch  the 
key  of  Harmony,  he  will  perceive  he  has  set  the  bells 
of  the  Infinite  to  ringing  and  the  sweet  Rhythm  of  Love 
and  Peace  vibrate  therewith  and  Harmony  is  brought 
into  expression.  When  man  was  striking  the  discordant 
notes  confusion  reigned. 

Harmony  is  ever  present,  but  is  not  recognized  by  the 
finite  man  to  be  an  ever-present  reality  until  through  un- 
derstanding the  great  theme,  the  Greatness  of  God,  he 
''Knows  the  Truth."  He  then  becomes  free  and  under- 
stands. 

We  see  Harmony  expressed  through  nature  in  the 
springtime,  when  the  earth  has  become  adorned  with 
grass  and  flowers;  when  the  trees  are  draped  in  leaves 
of  different  shades  of  green,  the  brooks  babbling  along 
through  meadows,  fields  and  glens,  singing  the  song 
which  expresses  joy  and  harmony ;  when  the  song  of  the 
meadow  lark  is  heard  and  the  birds  sing  sweetly  as  they 
build  their  nests  in  the  trees  which  have  clothed  them- 
selves with  their  mantle  of  green ;  when  the  curtains  of 
evening  gather  so  softly  and  in  such  rhythm  before  the 
declining  sun,  brilliant  and  beautiful;  when  these  are 
replaced  by  more  somber  ones  and  the  mountains  are 


56  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

silently  mantled  in  the  soft  purple  gauze  of  even-time. 
At  this  hour  silence  in  nature  reigns  and  Harmony 
abounds,  for  it  is  permitted  to  express  it  for  a  short  time, 
at  least,  through  nature,  the  ''Outer  garment  of  God.*' 
Harmony  so  expressing  is,  forever  was,  and  will  never 
cease  to  be. 

The  next  aspect  of  God  which  we  will  consider  is  Per- 
fection. God  is  Perfection,  full  and  complete.  In  the 
impersonal  aspect  of  God,  which  is  Aum,  there  is  Perfec- 
tion, Completeness;  and  when  Aum  became  manifest 
through  creation.  Perfection  was  manifested  throughout 
the  vastness  of  Creation,  throughout  all  the  manifesta- 
tions of  God. 

God  is  the  Creator ;  and  creation  in  all  of  its  different 
degrees  expresses  Aum. 

Aum  is  the  Perfect  Impersonal  Presence  which  is  Om- 
nipresent, and  creation  is  the  Perfect  Manifestation  of 
the  Perfect  Presence  of  that  which  IS. 

Perfection  is  set  in  action  when  God  became  through 
creation,  manifest  in  expression.  It  is  expressed  in  Law, 
Harmony,  Peace,  Love,  Life,  Light,  Good,  Purity, 
Power,  Intelligence  and  Rhythm. 

Back  at  the  place  where  the  curtain  hangs,  just  be- 
yond the  discordant  note,  the  bells  of  heaven  ring  soft 
and  clear;  they  ring!  and  their  sound  is  Harmony  in 
Perfection  and  the  perfect  rhythm  of  Harmony  vibrates 
throughout  Aum,  and  Aum  fills  all  space.  Thus  we 
desire  man  to  see  that  Heaven  in  Harmony  is  everywhere 
present;  and,  even  in  the  midst  of  opposite  conditions, 
is  ever-present  in  Perfection,  seeking  to  awaken  by  its 
"concord  of  sweet  sounds." 

List !  in  the  midst  of  any  confusion  in  which  man  may 
find  himself,  he  can,  if  he  stills  the  noise  of  his  carnal 
discord,  hear  the  bells  of  heaven  ring,  and  they  express 
Perfection  of  Harmony.    Perfection  is  omnipresent. 

Perfection  dwells  in  the  God-head.  Therefore,  it  is 
unchangeable  and  is  never  touch  nor  disturbed  by  any 
imperfection  which  seems  to  be. 


The  Greatness  and  Smallness  op  God         57 

Imperfection  is  in  the  carnal  man  and  his  expressions 
and,  not  in  God's  expressions,  which  remain  perfect 
throughout  the  endlessness  of  that  Eternity  which  He 
inhabits. 

Peace  also  abides  in  the  God-head,  in  that  ever-present 
Presence,  and  is  not  touched  nor  disturbed  by  anger, 
hate,  malice  nor  revenge.  Not  even  war,  with  all  of  its 
dark  clouds,  can  so  much  as  touch  the  hem  of  the  gar- 
ment in  which  Peace  is  robed. 

Peace  is  and  will  never  cease  to  be !  It  ever  stands  in 
unmanifested  form  behind  anger,  hate,  malice  and  re- 
venge ;  and  over  the  battle  fields  and  in  and  through  the 
instruments  of  war  Peace  is!  and  will  finally  become 
manifest  in  the  outward  forms  and  expressions. 

Peace  will  some  time  reign  supreme  in  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  men.  Then  Perfection,  Harmony  and  Love  will 
unite  and  the  anthems  will  chime  throughout  the  uni- 
verse, because  these  aspects  of  Aum  are  being  recognized 
by  the  carnal  man.  This  recognition  sets  the  bells  of 
heaven  ringing,  and  if  man,  whose  mind  is  beginning  to 
expand,  will  listen  in  the  silence  with  Aum,  in  the  sacred 
chamber  of  his  own  Soul  he  will  hear  the  bells  of  joy  as 
they  ring,  ring,  ring ! 

Joy  and  gladness  are  responsive  states  in  the  carnal 
man's  mind,  which  mind  is  of  the  earth,  earthy  until  it 
listens  and  recognizes  the  bells  of  heaven,  which  are  for- 
ever ringing.  As  it  listens,  it  becomes  consciously  filled 
with  Rhythm,  Harmony,  Peace  and  Love ;  and  if  it  con- 
tinues to  listen,  it  will  become  so  perfectly  attuned  to  the 
Eternity  of  that  which  is,  that  man  will  lose  his  carnal 
concept  and  become  conscious  of  the  presence  of  Aum 
and  know  that  he  lives,  moves  and  has  his  being  in  God 
and  that  God  is  manifest  in  and  through  him. 

Holiness  is  another  state  which  man  attains  unto  as  he 
continues  to  listen  to  the  bells  of  heaven  and  the  glad 
refrain  from  the  Hosannas  which  are  wafted  to  him  from 
realms  above.  These  Hosannas,  being  pure  and  holy, 
man  becomes  like  unto  them  and  responds  in  Holiness. 


58  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Holiness  is  an  attribute  of  Perfection. 

It  is  the  Greatness  of  God  which  we  have  dwelt  upon 
in  this  chapter.  It  is  well  for  the  mind  of  man  to  look 
out,  through,  over  and  under  himself  and  endeavor  to 
(as  much  as  mind  can  grasp)  think  on  the  Vastness  and 
Greatness  of  God  and  upon  His  nearness. 

We  will  now  take  up  the  second  part  of  the  subject 
which  is  to  be  considered  in  this  chapter,  the  Smallness 
of  God. 

The  carnal  mind  will  instantly  wonder  how  a  thing 
so  great,  as  has  been  portrayed  in  the  foregoing  part  of 
this  chapter,  can  have  smallness  also. 

Aum,  which  is  God,  is  so  great  that  He  can  hold  the 
mountain  in  His  hand  and  not  feel  its  weight ;  and  at  the 
same  time  this  Infinite  Intelligence  which  is  Omnipres- 
ent sees  and  caresses  the  atoms  of  earth  which  are  hid 
away  from  the  eyes  of  the  carnal  man,  and  the  little 
drops  of  water  in  the  ocean  depth ;  and  the  dew-drop  He 
holds  on  His  finger  tip  that  it  may  sparkle  to  encourage 
the  carnal  man  who  is  dreaming  his  time  away,  being 
lost  and  asleep  in  carnality. 

Aum  kisses  the  little  snow  flakes  as  they  move  grace- 
fully along;  He  guides  the  drops  of  rain  and  the  cur- 
rents in  the  great  oceans;  yea,  nothing  is  too  small  for 
Infinite  Love  to  take  notice  of  and  guide,  in  unerring 
wisdom,  into  its  rightful  place.  Each  and  all,  from  the 
atoms  in  the  midst  of  our  mother  earth  and  the  drops  in 
the  depths  of  the  sea  unto  man,  the  highest  manifesta- 
tion of  Aum,  are  all  moving  in  His  watchfulness  and  safe 
guidance. 

Man  in  his  bigotry  and  conceit  may  think  it  beneath 
him  to  spare  the  life  of  the  reptiles,  insects,  fowls  and 
animals ;  yet  Jesus  Christ  said,  * '  Not  even  a  sparrow  can 
fall  to  the  ground  without  the  Father's  notice." 

As  man  looks  earnestly  into  the  Smallness  of  God,  he 
perceives  God's  great  Love  and  Care  which  is  spread 
as  a  mantle  everywhere.  It  is  no  respecter  of  forms  or 
degrees  in  expression,  because  the  Love,  which  is  God, 


The  Greatness  and  Smallness  of  God         59 

cares  for  and  caresses  the  wounded  serpent,  when  it  has 
crawled  away  into  shelter  from  the  man  who  injured  it, 
just  as  It  will  caress  and  heal  the  man  whom  the  serpent 
has  bitten. 

Infinite  Love  knows  full  well  when  man  and  the  ser- 
pent understand  that  Presence  (which  is  ever  present 
and  is  the  Allness  of  the  First  Great  Cause,  Aum)  there 
will  be  no  desire  in  man  to  destroy  the  serpent,  neither 
will  there  be  any  thought  of  self-protection  in  the  ser- 
pent, which  is  the  cause  of  its  harming  man. 

It  is  the  carnal  mind  of  man  only,  that  recognizes  the 
degrees  of  state  and  the  size  and  expression  of  form. 
With  God,  ''There  is  nothing  great  or  small."  There- 
fore, we  can  perceive  that  it  is  as  easy  for  God  to  hold 
the  universe  in  space  without  its  testing  His  strength, 
accomplishing  that  with  the  same  care,  grace  and  ease 
as  that  with  which  the  Father-Mother-God  careth  for  the 
birdlings  in  their  nests  far  in  the  tree  top  or  on  the 
mountain  side  and  for  the  little  atom  in  the  earth  which 
so  patiently  fills  its  place  and  moves  forward  at  the  bid- 
ding of  Infinite  Intelligence. 

It  is  not  more  beneath  the  Love  and  dignity  of  God  to 
stoop  and  caress  the  beggar *s  feet,  if  he  calls  for  Love's 
caress,  than  to  kiss  the  brow  of  Kings  as  they  sit  on 
their  golden  thrones,  bedecked  with  the  rare  and  priceless 
jewels  of  Earth. 

There  is  one  jewel  which  Infinite  Love  appreciates  and 
will  stoop  to  the  lowliest  to  receive ;  that  Jewel  is  Love. 

We  see  the  infant  smile  and  clap  its  little  hands  and 
seemingly  look  into  space;  it  is  only  responding  to  a 
caress  of  Infinite  Love.  We  see  the  rose  unfold  and  turn 
its  beautiful  face  toward  the  light,  and,  as  it  feels  the 
Love  of  the  Infinite  Touch,  it  responds  with  the  perfume 
from  its  heart,  offering  the  incense  of  its  praise  to  the 
God  of  Love. 

God  touches  the  daisies  by  the  roadside  with  His  ten- 
der embrace ;  and  the  grains  of  sand  which  form  the  sea 
shore.  He  forgets  not. 


60  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

There  is  not  one  expression  in  any  form,  great  or 
small,  but  God  doth  know,  and  broodeth  over  with  Love 
and  Care. 

Let  us  now  take  the  two  great  aspects  of  God  and  com- 
bine them  and  see  what  we  have  to  present  to  the  ra- 
tional, reasoning  mind  of  man. 

We  find  we  have  a  Being  so  Great,  that  the  mind  of 
man  in  the  carnal  state  cannot  comprehend  it;  and  so 
Sublime,  it  takes  note  of  the  smallest  of  His  Creations 
and  careth  for  them  as  tenderly  as  for  the  highest  and 
greatest. 

When  man  perceiveth  what  is  back  of  all  this  which 
he  sees  around  him  in  expression,  the  earth,  water,  and 
the  forms  which  live  upon  the  earth  and  in  the  earth, 
the  air  and  all  the  inhabitants  thereof,  man  will  begin 
to  come  forth  from  the  Adam-state  of  consciousness, 
which  is  carnality;  and,  as  he  moves  forward,  he  will 
learn  concerning  the  Greatness  and  the  Smallness  of  the 
Omnipresent  Aum,  from  which  all  came  into  this  present 
earth-state  and  to  Whom  all  will  return. 

Each  man  came  out  alone  from  this  Impersonal  Pres- 
ence, which  is  God, — from  his  Home  in  Paradise,  where 
bliss  reigns  supreme,  where  there  is  one  continuous 
chorus  of  Rhythmic  Harmony,  blending  with  Peace,  Love 
and  good  cheer;  and  each  individual  manifestation  of 
God  is  surcharged  with  the  ecstasy  of  Bliss. 

When  man  comes  into  the  carnal  mind  concept,  he 
still  has  an  unconscious  desire  to  again  feel  the  ecstasy 
and  bliss  which  he  enjoyed  in  that  other  state,  which  is 
called  Paradise.  This  is  what  causes  the  unrest  in  the 
minds  of  men  of  earth  and  this  will  remain  in  all  men 
until  they  return  Home  to  that  same  state  where  they 
are  vibrant  with  God,  partaking  of  His  eternal  Ecstasy 
and  Bliss.  This  is  the  joy  of  Living,  the  gladness  of 
Being,  and  the  meaning  of  Life. 

Why  have  we  analyzed  God  in  His  two  aspects  of 
Greatness  and  Smallness?  That  man  may,  through  this 
assistance,  know  God  as  He  truly  is;  with  all  the  mys- 


The  Greatness  and  Smallness  of  God         61 

teries  removed  from  his  mind,  that  it  may  expand,  yea, 
learn  to  look  at  our  Heavenly  Father-Mother  from  all 
the  different  aspects  we  have  presented ;  for,  in  so  doing, 
the  mind  will  continue  to  expand  until  it  will  finally 
burst  its  bounds.  Then  man  will  learn  to  know  his  God ; 
and,  when  man  truly  knows  God  as  He  is,  man  will  desire 
to  draw  near  to  Him, — man's  Source,  his  Father-Mother- 
God. 

As  we  have  learned  through  the  interpretation  of  God, 
that  He  is  Love  and  that  Love  is  the  magnet  which  only 
draws  to  itself  qualities  of  like  import,  then  we  see  that 
God,  being  Love,  only  draws  man  to  Him  through  the 
quality  of  Love  which  is  inherent  in  man. 

The  carnal  concept  knows  not  of  the  Divine  Quality  of 
Love  and  only  recognizes  it  in  the  state  of  the  carnal  man 
which  is  the  human.  The  human  life  is  lived  in  the 
shadows  of  the  Real ;  therefore,  it  is  changeable  and  fleet- 
ing, not  having  a  firm  abiding  place. 

When  the  carnal  mind  in  man  begins  to  expand,  the 
Light  concerning  the  Truth  of  God  and  Man  will  enter 
until  man  becomes  enlightened  sufficiently  clear  to  draw 
near  to  God. 

At  first,  man  may  be  chill  and  cold,  having  been 
touched  by  the  wintry  blasts  of  earth ;  and  he  may  desire 
to  approach  God  for  self  only.  While  this  is  a  very  small 
way  to  approach  our  Heavenly  Father,  it  is  far  better 
to  come  to  Him  thus  than  not  to  come  at  all.  We  have 
read  these  words  of  an  Illumined  one  who  said,  "The 
Father  knoweth  what  ye  have  need  of  before  ye  ask. ' ' 

We  will  now  recall  that  the  Father  is  that  Infinite 
Love  and  Intelligence  which  stoops  and  caresses  all,  be 
they  high  or  low,  rich  or  poor ;  and  in  His  embrace  they 
will  feel  the  quickening  power  which  will  so  vitalize  their 
mind  and  heart  that  a  warmth  will  glow  within  them 
and  in  time  they  will  be  so  filled  with  the  manna  from 
heaven  that  they  will  begin  to  think  of  their  fellow  man 
and  desire  to  assist  him  to  find  this  same  Love  and  Kind- 
ness which  they  have  received. 


62  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

As  the  men  who  are  in  the  carnal  state  come  to  the 
Father  and  abide  there  until  they  are  filled  with  the 
manna  from  heaven  and  then  go  forth  to  tell  their  fellow 
man  about  it,  they  are  doing  their  part  in  assisting  to 
establish  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  upon  earth. 

The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  must  again  be  consciously 
established  in  the  heart  and  mind  of  man.  Then  each 
individual  will  gladly  give  their  service  to  assist  human- 
ity to  seek  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  and  its  Harmony. 

All  the  people  of  earth  from  the  beginning,  before  the 
time  "When  man's  mind  ran  not  to  the  contrary"  have 
looked  forward  to  something  higher,  brighter  and  better 
than  is  seen  in  the  carnal  state  of  man,  and  all  races 
have  had  a  hope  for  a  better  state  held  before  them. 
Even  the  savage  perceives  that  there  is  '^The  Great 
Spirit."  He  may  think  that  it  is  in  the  water,  the 
mountains  or  the  sky  far  above ;  but  it  matters  not  how 
insignificant  his  location  of  the  Great  Spirit  may  be,  he 
has  a  hope,  and  this  causes  him  to  look  forward  to  a 
' '  Happy  Hunting  Ground. ' ' 

It  is  well  to  smile  not  at  the  perception  which  lights 
the  mind  of  the  savage  into  a  hope  for  Life  Immortal. 
Let  us  again  remember  that  in  our  analysis  of  God  we 
find  Him  both  Great  and  Small.  Therefore,  we  will  not 
permit  ourselves  to  even  think  that  Infinite  Love  will 
ignore  the  little  light  the  savage  has  and  turn  from  him. 
Oh,  no!  God  is  Love!  and  **Love  loves  love"  in  the 
heart  of  the  savage,  be  it  ever  so  small  a  ray,  just  as  well 
as  *'Love  loves  love"  in  the  heart  of  a  Brahmin  Priest. 

Then,  when  man  desires  to  return  to  the  Father- 
Mother-God,  he  can  use  Love  as  a  key  to  unlock  the 
storehouse  of  God,  which  is  the  Love,  the  Light,  the  Life, 
the  Power  and  the  Intelligence  of  Aum.  Love  being  the 
key,  appreciation  will  soon  begin  to  grow  in  the  heart; 
then  devotion  will  flow  from  the  mind  and  Soul. 

As  man  approaches,  step  by  step,  nearer  the  Presence 
which  is,  was,  and  ever  will  be,  which  Presence  is  God, 
man,  whose  mind  is  becoming  receptive  of  the  Light  of 


The  Greatness  and  Smallness  of  God         63 

God,  will  see  the  difference  between  the  carnal  state  of 
man  and  the  Divine  State. 

Nothing  but  the  Light  of  God,  or  that  Light  which  is 
God,  can  penetrate  deep  enough  into  the  carnal  concept 
to  enable  man  to  pierce  the  darkness  and  gloom  that  en- 
folds and  surrounds  him,  and  continues  to  shine  stronger 
and  clearer  until  the  fullness  of  the  Christ-Light  con- 
sumes the  ignorance  which  was  in  the  mind  concerning 
God  and  man,  and  the  superstitions  which  took  such 
active  part  in  his  mind,  thus  enabling  man  to  see  himself 
as  God  has  ever  seen  him, — a  perfect  manifestation  of 
the  Living  God. 

As  in  God  there  is  ''No  shadow  nor  turning,"  so  in 
man,  also,  when  he  has  moved  forward  from  the  carnal 
concept  of  himself  into  the  Christ-light,  which  reveals 
to  him  that  he  is  a  Son  of  the  Most  High  God.  When 
man  has  reached  the  Christ-State  in  perception,  he  will 
soon  step  forth  into  the  ' '  Glorious  liberty  of  the  Sons  of 
God. ' '  This  is  his  inheritance !  How  long  a  time  it  may 
require  for  man  to  achieve  this  triumph  * '  No  man  know- 
eth,  not  even  the  Son,  but  the  Father.'* 

The  Greatness  and  Smallness  of  God  is  not  far  from 
man  when  he  turns  to  seek  for  them. 

God  as  Aum  is  Omnipresent;  and  none  can  stray  so 
far  but  that  God  is  there  with  His  Love  and  Care.  None 
can  become  bound  so  deep  in  the  ice  and  snow  of  the  far 
north,  but  that  the  warmth  of  God's  Love  is  there. 

If  man  desires  the  Love  of  God,  it  is  necessary  that  he 
request  it;  for  the  Law  and  Harmony  of  Aum  will  re- 
main in  the  unmanifest  to  man  until  he  seeks  them  out. 
This  is  done  through  one  way,  and  Jesus  Christ  of  Naza- 
reth told  us  the  Way.  He  said,  ''Ask,  seek  and  knock 
and  the  door  will  be  opened  unto  you." 

First,  man  must  open  his  mind  and  heart  to  the  Light, 
which  is  the  Truth ;  and  then  ask  the  Father  for  Light, 
Love  and  Wisdom. 

Jesus  Christ,  the  perfect  representative  of  Truth,  said, 
"I  stand  at  the  door  of  every  man's  heart  and  knock; 


64  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

if  he  will  open  to  me,  I  will  enter  and  sup  with  him." 
We  find,  after  this  is  done,  that  man  is  still  required  to 
do  his  part,  which  is  for  man  to  turn  to  the  Great  God, 
remembering  His  Greatness  and  also  His  Smallness. 

This  reminds  man,  that  from  His  Greatness  God  can 
do  all  things  and  that  in  His  Smallness  He  will  stoop  to 
listen  to  every  desire  of  man  which  is  expressed  through 
thought  or  word,  and  tenderly  caresses  each  and  every 
one  and  with  His  Great  Strength  sustain  and  protect  us 
unto  the  time  when  we  again  have  reached  the  glory  of 
being  at  Home  in  the  Father  *s  House,  filled  with  the 
Ecstasy  and  Bliss  which  is  only  known  to  those  who  have 
come  to  the  Father  through  the  Christ,  the  only  begotten 
Son  of  God. 


CHAPTER  V 

MAN,  THE  '' CROWNING  GLORY  OF  GOD" 

MAN,  what  art  thou  that  Aum  should  be  mindful 
of  thee, — Aum,  the  Omnipresent  God? 
"That  light  which  lighteth  every  man  who 
Cometh  into  the  world"  shines  over  the  Path  which  leads 
through  the  carnal  man's  concept  of  himself  and  his 
world  unto  the  City  of  God,  which  lieth  four  square  upon 
Mount  Zion. 

This  city  represents  man's  perfect  understanding  of 
himself,  God  and  the  Universe ;  so  complete  is  it  that  it 
is  square,  equal  on  every  side. 

Man,  the  man  who  is  * '  The  Crowning  Glory  of  God, ' '  is 
awakened  into  the  City  which  lieth  four  square  upon  the 
Holy  Mountain. 

Man  is  not  complete  in  expression  until  he  has  become 
developed  on  the  four  sides  of  his  nature.  When  man 
has  passed  through  the  Third  Dimension,  he  begins  build- 
ing the  Fourth  Wall  to  the  Holy  City,  which  City  he 
then  comprehends  to  be  himself. 

As  man  passes  through  the  Third  Dimension,  or  degree 
of  unfoldment,  his  burdens  are  heavy  to  bear,  and  the 
darkness  in  his  mind  causes  him  to  see  only  dimly,  and 
who  can  walk  in  a  dark  and  strange  cave  with  only  the 
light  of  a  candle  to  light  it,  and  not  stumble  many  times  ? 

In  the  first  stages  of  man's  development  in  the  carnal 
state,  he  did  not  have  artificial  light;  but  the  need  of 
more  light  caused  him  to  seek  out  inventions,  and  we  see 
man  in  proportion  to  his  unfoldment  bringing  the  light 

65 


66  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

into  expression  in  the  outer  world  from  the  flint  to  the 
torch,  from  the  tallow  candle  to  the  oil,  from  the  gas  to 
the  electric  light. 

Electricity  is  a  symbol  of  that  perfect  Light  which  will 
light  man  into  the  fourth  dimension ;  and  by  that  Light 
man  will  complete  himself  in  understanding  until  he  will 
see  himself  as  God  sees  him. 

The  City  lieth  four  square  upon  Mount  Zion,  the 
streets  are  pure  gold,  the  gates  are  set  with  gems  of  rare 
value,  rubies,  diamonds,  sapphires  and  amethysts,  and 
the  gates  are  never  closed ;  for,  behold,  there  is  no  night 
there,  neither  is  there  need  of  the  sun,  for  the  Light  of 
God  lighteth  it.  It  lieth  four  square,  which  makes  it 
complete,  and  the  River  of  Life  floweth  through  it,  crys- 
tal, clear  and  refreshing.  God  is  the  King  who  sits  on 
the  Throne  of  this  City,  and  his  son, — the  Christ,  stands 
by  His  side  and  ever  doeth  His  bidding  and  rejoices 
therein,  because  He  knows  that  He  who  sits  on  the 
Throne  is  the  Source,  "The  Center,  and  the  circumfer- 
ence of  that  which  IS.''  This  King  is  God, — is  Aum. 
Jesus  Christ  has  fully  completed  His  City;  and  He 
knows.  He  is  so  near  the  King — the  Father,  that  He 
and  the  Father  are  one. ' '  When  man  fully  realizes  this, 
he  is  in  the  Fourth  Dimension. 

As  man  was  compelled  to  learn  to  use  the  implements 
of  the  other  dimensions  through  which  he  has  passed, 
so  he  now  must  set  about  to  learn  the  implements  of  this 
Dimension,  their  purpose  and  how  to  use  them  intelli- 
gently. 

This  being  the  final  or  finishing  Dimension,  it  is  im- 
portant that  man  learns  the  nature  of  these  implements 
clearly  and  uses  them  perfectly;  for  it  is  perfection 
which  is  now  the  model.  Even  here  man  is  required  to 
chisel  away  every  little  speck  of  error  which  may  still 
linger,  either  within  the  City  or  on  the  outside  walls. 
When  man  has  completed  his  work  in  the  Fourth  Dimen- 
sion and  has  its  wall  finished  and  joined  solidly  into 
the  others,  it  is  one  wall,  solid,  perfect  and  complete. 


Man,  the  "Crowning  Glory  of  God''  67 

The  tools  used  here  are  not  the  same  as  those  used  in 
the  other  Dimension;  for  there  man  was  seeking  for 
something  he  had  not  found.  The  light  was  dim  and 
the  burdens  heavy;  but  he  there  learned  to  patiently 
carry  his  cross ;  because,  from  the  Light  which  shone  over 
his  Path,  he  could  discern  that  the  only  way  to  escape 
from  that  state  was  by  willingly  carrying  the  cross.  This 
recognition  does  not  come  to  man  until  he  has  traveled 
far  upon  the  Path. 

The  fact  that  we  find  man  in  the  Fourth  Dimension 
proves  that  he  sought  for  help  from  a  higher  source  than 
himself.  He  had  been  compelled  to  learn  his  inefficiency ; 
and  here  is  where  the  overshadowing  Care  whispers, 
''Ask,  seek,  knock,"  when  the  scriptural  promise  is  ful- 
filled, ' '  The  way  will  open  unto  you. ' ' 

As  man  learns  to  trust  and  revere  the  overshadowing 
Care,  Light  and  Love,  he  learns  that  prayer  is  the  tool 
to  ever  use  in  chiseling  his  way  through  the  outpicturings 
of  his  mistakes  which  surround  him;  for  prayer  is  the 
instrument  which  will  cause  the  mind  to  expand  to  re- 
ceive the  wisdom  which  comes  from  the  Light  above, 
which  will  cause  the  heart  to  become  soft  enough  to  let 
in  the  ray  of  Love  until  it  is  melted  into  pure  Love,  like 
unto  "Molten  Gold. ' '  Then  it  will  glow  with  the  warmth 
of  the  noonday  sun  and,  as  the  sun's  warmth  causes  the 
growth  of  every  expression  of  life  upon  the  earth's  sur- 
face, so  this  Love  will  quicken  and  bless  mankind. 

When  man  has  reached  this  stage,  he  is  nearing  the 
border-line  between  the  Third  and  Fourth  Dimesion. 
This  is  where  the  work  is  most  particular  and  every 
stroke  of  the  hammer  of  importance.  The  work  must 
be  done  under  the  guidance  of  Divine  Love  and  the  tools 
must  be  used  in  Love ;  because  the  diamond  is  reaching 
the  stage  where  its  true  worth  is  to  be  brought  to  the 
surface. 

When  a  diamond  is  first  brought  from  the  depth  of 
the  earth,  the  tools  used  to  clear  away  the  debris  which 
surrounds  it  can  be  crude,  the  hand  untrained  and  the 


68  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

mind  coarse ;  but  when  it  is  nearing  the  finishing  process 
the  tools  are  fine,  the  hand  steady  and  the  mind  filled 
with  understanding.  Then  the  beautifully  cut  and  spark- 
ling gem  is  presented  to  the  world. 

So  man,  as  he  advances  in  understanding,  changes  his 
tools  according  to  his  degree  of  enlightenment  and  con- 
tinues to  chisel  his  way,  until  he  finds  himself  at  the  place 
where  the  tools  are  so  fine  and  the  understanding  re- 
quired so  deep,  that  he  becomes  willing  to  lay  his  self- 
will  upon  the  altar  and,  through  prayer.  The  Sacred 
Tool,  commit  it  to  the  All- Wise  One,  the  Aum.  Then  he 
is  willing  to  walk  in  the  Will  of  the  Father,  ''Who  is 
ever  in  Heaven,  in  Harmony."  This  Wise  and  Loving 
Father  will  soon  lead  him  unto  the  Christ  and  cause 
him  to  linger  there,  and  willingly  sit  at  His  feet  until  he, 
too,  has  not  only  touched  the  hem  of  the  Christly  Robe, 
but  becomes  Illumined  with  the  Christ- Consciousness. 
This  is  to  know  that  he,  too,  is  at-one-ment  with  the 
Father. 

It  is  the  Christ-Consciousness  which  enables  man  to 
cross  from  the  Third  Dimension  into  the  Fourth;  but, 
rest  assured,  his  labors  do  not  cease  there,  for  here  is 
where  he  begins  to  use  the  instruments  so  fine  and  deli- 
cate that  they  were  not  known  to  him  while  he  was  living 
in  the  Third  Degree  Concept  of  himself  and  of  God. 

If  a  man  has  only  one  talent,  not  much  is  required  of 
him;  but  of  him  who  has  ten,  much  is  required.  Man 
knoweth  not  the  way  here ;  but  the  Father  knoweth  and 
will  reveal  it  unto  him,  because,  man  having  laid  down 
his  self-will,  is  willing  to  be  guided  by  the  All- Wise  One, 
our  Father-Mother-God. 

Man  in  the  Christ-Consciousness  learns  from  the 
Christ  within,  that  he  is  a  Son  of  the  Living  God  and, 
as  such,  knows  that  he  is  the  *  *  Crowning  Glory  of  God. ' ' 

If  God,  Aum,  had  not  manifested  in  His  highest  ex- 
pressions called  man.  He  would  not  have  had  an  * '  Image 
and  Likeness.'^ 


Man,  the  ''Crowning  Glory  of  God"  69 

God's  creation  would  be  perfect  in  expression,  but 
* '  The  Crowning  Glory ' '  would  not  be  there ;  but  it  was 
for  man,  "God's  Crowning  Glory, '*  that  the  universe 
came  into  its  various  expressions  in  forms  from  the  atoms 
unto  the  suns  and  planets. 

In  Genesis  we  read  that  God  created  man  and  placed 
him  in  the  Garden  of  Eden.  The  minds  of  men  have 
not  agreed  upon  the  exact  location  of  the  Garden  of 
Eden;  nor  will  they,  because,  in  reality,  it  is  the  whole 
earth  where  God  has  caused  vegetation,  fruit  and 
flowers  to  grow,  and  the  trees  to  beautify  the  landscape, 
casting  a  cool  shade,  that  animal,  bird  and  man  may 
rest  therein. 

The  Garden  of  Eden  consciousness  is  the  state  in  which 
man  was  while  he  dwelt  in  Paradise.  Man,  then,  had 
not  a  care  in  his  mind,  knew  of  no  darkness  and  was  con- 
scious of  the  Love  which  is  God  within  and  around  him. 

Man  in  that  paradisical  state,  was  as  an  innocent  babe. 
He  rested  upon  the  Bosom  of  the  Father  and  laughed 
gleefully  as  the  sunbeams  of  Love  overshadowed  him; 
but  he  did  not  know  the  how  nor  the  why  concerning  it. 
As  man  had  not  eaten  of  the  Fruit  of  the  Tree  of  Knowl- 
erge,  which  is  Good  and  Evil,  he  knew  only  good;  and, 
when  he  did  partake  of  the  fruit  which  was  forbidden  by 
Wisdom,  he  knew  not  how  to  retrace  his  steps.  There- 
fore, he  was  compelled  to  pass  through  earth's  experi- 
ences until  he  learned  to  ask  for  guidance  from  above. 
Then  he  was  informed  to  take  up  his  cross  willingly  and 
press  on.  If  he  so  does  and  continues  to  ask  for  guid- 
ance, he  will  in  time  reach  the  border  line  between  the 
two  Dimensions. 

When  man  has  passed  into  the  Fourth  Dimension,  he 
lays  down  his  cross. 

Every  man  will  work  his  problem  unto  its  final  solu- 
tion, and  pass  from  infancy  to  ''The  stature  of  the  full 
grown  man  in  Christ  Jesus." 

The  intellect  sees  the  possibility  of  man's  becoming 
the   Conscious  Manifestation   of   God;    but  the   Spirit 


70  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

within  reveals  to  man  the  necessity,  as  well  as  the  possi- 
bility, for  man  to  come  into  the  conscious  recognition  of 
his  True  Being  as  God  made  him  when  he  stepped  from 
the  womb  of  the  Infinite,  and  cause  him  to  understand 
the  Power,  Love  and  Dominion  with  which  he  was  en- 
dued at  the  moment  he  became  an  individualized  Being. 

As  long  as  the  intellect  governs  man,  he  will  look  in 
the  distance  for  his  Ideal,  be  it  God  or  himself ;  because 
the  intellect,  being  the  instrument  of  the  outer  man,  sees 
things  literally.  Therefore,  it  leads  humanity  by  point- 
ing, either  back  through  the  centuries  or  forward  to  the 
time  which  is  to  come. 

But  the  Spirit  of  Truth  whispers  now,  now,  now !  And 
in  the  Scriptures  one  has  said,  ''This  is  the  day  of  Sal- 
vation.*' 

The  man  who  is  living  in  the  intellectual  concept  of 
God  and  man  looks  upon  the  world  as  he  sees  it — as  ma- 
terial substance,  and  man  as  being  formed  from  the  dust 
of  the  ground.  The  man  who  is  looking  far  away  for 
God,  most  likely,  will  trample  upon  the  delicately  tinted 
flowers  which  grow  along  his  path,  taking  no  notice  of 
them.  '  n;  '^ 

As  soon  as  man  awakened  sufficieintly  to  hear  the 
"Still  Small  Voice,''  he  began  to  examine  himself  and 
to  make  use  of  the  material  at  hand.  Man  has  sought 
out  inventions  in  the  outer  world  to  assist  him  to  bring 
about  an  easier  and  better  way  to  bring  his  surroundings 
into  perfection.  ^  i  i 

When  God  seems  a  great  distance  from  man,  he  de- 
pends upon  his  own  efforts  to  establish  harmonious  envi- 
ronments for  himself  and  those  dependent  upon  him. 
This  he  will  do,  perhaps  for  centuries,  quite  satisfactory 
to  himself,  and,  when  the  clapping  of  the  thunder  an- 
nounces the  destruction  which  the  lightning  has  caused, 
he  submits  gracefully,  because  he  believes  that  God,  who 
dwells  in  the  distance  and  suggests  His  wrath  through 
the  roar  of  the  thunder,  has  brought  this  calamity  upon 
him;  and,  when  he  approaches  the  death-door,  he  sub- 


Man,  the  ''Crowning  Glory  of  God"  71 

mits  willingly,  supposing  this  to  be  the  Will  of  God.  Not 
knowing  concerning  the  beyond,  he  only  trusts  to  the  far 
away  God.  God  will  ever  remain  at  a  great  distance 
from  this  state  of  mind.  There  is  a  great  gulf  in  man  be- 
tween the  Intellect  and  the  Spirit,  between  the  outer  and 
the  inner  man. 

When  Jesus  Christ  began  to  teach  His  message,  the 
people  were  looking  forward  in  hope  that  the  Messiah 
would  come;  some  believed  He  would  come;  but  who 
could  believe  that  He  had  arrived  ?  None !  except  those 
who  had  been  quickened  and  had  heard  the  Voice  of  the 
Spirit.  These  then  knew  that  God  had  drawn  near  unto 
them,  yea,  dwelt  within  them. 

Thomas,  a  disciple  of  Jesus,  represents  the  stage  of 
doubting  through  which  all  minds  pass  after  they  are 
aroused  from  the  Adam-state  of  mind  and  feel  the  quick- 
ening touch  of  Spirit  and  hear  the  call  direct  to  the  indi- 
vidual. The  doubts  work  out  for  good  to  the  sincere 
seeker  after  Truth,  because  they  cause  him  to  go  forward 
and  investigate. 

Jesus  Christ  did  not  disdain  to  recognize  the  doubts 
which  were  in  the  mind  of  His  disciples  and  were  ex- 
pressed through  Thomas'  words;  but  Jesus  appeared 
when  Thomas  was  with  the  other  disciples  and  bade 
him  put  forth  his  hand  and  feel  the  wound  in  His  side 
and  examine  the  nail  prints  in  His  hand,  convincing 
Thomas,  ' '  That  he  be  no  more  doubting,  but  believing ! ' ' 

Thus  we  see  ,  by  the  example  of  Him  who  * '  Knew  the 
Truth,"  that  there  is  a  state  or  stage  of  mind  unfold- 
ment  which  requires  proof  concerning  the  Truth  of 
man's  being  and  of  God's,  the  Creator.  Jesus  had  at 
hand  the  proof  which  convinced  Thomas ;  for  thereafter 
Thomas  was  fearless.  Thomas  was  in  earnest  and  cour- 
ageous and  when  the  disciples  desired  that  Jesus  go  not 
to  Lazarus,  because  the  Jews  were  lying  in  wait  to  kill 
Him,  Thomas  said,  * '  We  will  go  with  Him,  and  die  with 
Him."  When  man  is  convinced  of  the  Truth,  fear  is 
removed  from  him. 


72  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Jesus  Christ,  the  great  demonstrator  of  Truth,  lived 
in  the  Now.  He  performed  His  great  works,  not  only  to 
relieve  the  suffering  from  pain  and  to  restore  the  dead 
to  the  sorrowing  friends,  but,  also,  to  teach  His  followers 
the  quickening  power  there  is  in  Truth.  Jesus'  message 
was  direct  to  the  individual.  He  said, ' '  Say  not  Lo,  here 
or  Lo,  there  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven ;  for  behold,  it  is 
within  you.*'  He  healed  men's  bodies  that  they  might 
thereby  receive  a  deeper  quickening,  which  would  result 
in  an  expansion  of  the  mind  and  an  awakening  of  the 
Soul  and  Spiritual  Consciousness.  This  is  evidence  that 
the  bodies  of  men  will  be  redeemed  through  the  expan- 
sion of  the  mind  and  the  awakening  of  the  Soul  and 
Spiritual  Consciousness. 

The  mind  of  carnal  man  has  become  narrow  and 
bigoted  by  looking  at  the  finite  only  and  the  Soul  has 
become  seemingly  sluggish  from  having  only  a  narrow 
crevice  in  the  mind  to  express  through. 

Jesus  one  day  told  the  Jews  that,  if  they  should  de- 
stroy this  Temple,  He  would  build  it  again  in  three  days. 
From  His  Illuminated  concept  of  the  sublime  work  which 
He  was  about  to  accomplish  for  humanity,  he  was  refer- 
ring to  His  body ;  but  they  in  their  finite  minds  thought 
Him  to  be  referring  to  the  building  in  which  He  was 
speaking ;  when  they,  in  their  little  finite  concept  of  time 
and  things,  said,  **How  could  He  build  it  in  three  days, 
when  it  was  forty  years  in  its  construction  ? ' ' 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  Jesus,  living  in  the  Christ-Con- 
sciousness and  being  enabled  to  see  the  end  from  the  be- 
ginning, wept  over  Jerusalem  and  called  to  the  inhabi- 
tants thereof,  saying,  *'How  oft  would  I  have  gathered 
you,  as  a  hen  gathers  her  brood,  but  ye  would  not?" 

Jesus,  as  he  stood  on  the  hill  top  looking  down  over 
Jerusalem,  was  consciously  living  in  the  Fourth  Dimen- 
sion; and  many  of  the  people  were  so  sound  asleep  that 
they  knew  not  that  the  Father  was  causing  this  great 
blessing  in  Truth  to  be  given  to  the  inhabitants  of  earth, 


Man,  the  "Crowning  Glory  of  God"  73 

establishing  the  authenticity  thereof  by  the  **  Signs  fol- 
lowing. '  * 

The  antediluvians  who  inhabited  the  earth  in  prehis- 
toric times  were  encased  in  gross  bodies  which  were  gov- 
erned by  a  sluggish  mind.  They  lived  and  relived,  and 
the  Wheel  of  Time  rolled  on  until  they  reached  the  his- 
toric period  from  which  they  will  go  on  to  finally  become 
the  exquisite  rose,  situated  in  the  cultivated  garden, 
where  the  gardener  is  the  Christ  and  the  fragrance  from 
the  perfume  of  their  Souls  will  extend  throughout  hu- 
manity to  encourage  and  refresh  each  inhabitant  therein. 

Man,  ''The  Image  and  Likeness  of  God,"  stepped  forth 
from  the  womb  of  the  Infinite  at  His  bidding  and  in  His 
desire  perfect  in  form  and  Being. 

Each  Soul  holds  the  Key  of  its  own  destiny  in  its  hand 
from  the  moment  it  steps  forth  from  the  Infinite  womb, 
even  though  it  is  not  conscious  of  it.  Therefore,  it  is  as 
helpless  as  though  it  had  it  not,  until  man  becomes  alive 
to  that  Truth. 

Man  may  dwell  hundreds  of  thousands  of  years  in  the 
prehistoric  age  and  it  may  have  been  very  many  thou- 
sands of  years  since  history  began,  but  this  matters  not, 
as  the  passing  of  years,  centuries,  periods  or  cycles  count 
as  naught  to  the  Soul  as  long  as  it  is  conscious  only  of 
the  outer  man  and  sees  and  knows  only  the  outer. 

When  the  Soul-Consciousness  is  fully  awakened,  it 
bursts  the  bounds  of  the  carnal  man  and  time  ceases  to 
be  to  his  consciousness.  When  the  last  bond  of  the 
sense-mind  is  broken,  man  has  learned  that  he  is  the 
' '  Crowning  Glory  of  God. ' ' 

He  then  will  sit  down  in  the  Father's  Kingdom  and 
his  crown  will  be  embellished  with  the  pure  thoughts 
of  his  mind,  the  kind  deeds  of  his  heart,  and  the  helping 
hand  which  he  has  extended  to  his  fellow  man. 

When  man  has  become  fully  illumined  concerning  him- 
self, and  has  solved  his  own  problem,  not  only  through 
his  mind  unto  the  knowing  of  it,  but  has  caused  the  solu- 
tion to  bring  forth  his  perfect  Spirit  Body,  redeemed 


74  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

from  the  carnal  concept  of  matter  unto  the  Spiritual 
Man,  then  he  will  recognize  clearly  what  *'Man,  the 
Crowning  Glory  of  God/'  is. 

Jesus  Christ  after  his  resurrection  is  our  pattern.  His 
is  the  model  which  man  should  ever  keep  before  his  mind, 
as  he  chisels  his  way  through  the  carnal  mind  concept 
unto  the  Christ-Consciousness. 

Prayer  is  the  tool  to  be  used  from  the  beginning  of  the 
journey  until  the  final  destination. 

In  the  antediluvians  the  mind,  no  doubt,  was  crude; 
but,  as  we  follow  the  footsteps  of  the  human  family,  we 
find  that  the  savage  tribes  each  had  some  idea  of  a  Su- 
preme Being,  though  their  first  altars  were  only  stones 
piled  together,  and  that  the  American  Indian  thought  of 
God  as  *'The  Great  Spirit.'' 

The  Christ,  which  Jesus  came  to  teach  and  represent 
to  the  world,  is  without  beginning  of  days  or  end  of 
years.  That  Christ  is  as  Eternal  as  the  Father ;  it  is  the 
Word,  the  Son  of  God. 

If  there  were  no  Son,  there  would  be  no  Father.  The 
Christ  is  the  Word  made  flesh  and  dwells  within  man. 
This  is  the  key  which  every  man  holds,  but  he  knows  it 
not  until  he  has  progressed  far  upon  the  path  and  has 
awakened  sufficiently  from  the  Adam  slumber  to  hear 
the  ''Still  Small  Voice"  of  Aum,  and  "Asks,  Seeks  and 
Knocks"  until  he  is  in  a  receptive  state  and  ready  to 
welcome  a  deeper  quickening.  Then  the  Father,  Who 
* '  Ever  knoweth  what  man  hath  need  of, ' '  hears  and  re- 
sponds with  an  influx  of  Divine  Light  and  Life,  and 
the  Christ  is  established  within  man.  Man  becomes  con- 
scious of  this  and  there  the  Christ  abides  as  '  *  The  Com- 
forter," who  will  lead  into  and  teach  all  Truth. 

As  there  is  no  intervening  obstacle  between  man  and 
the  blue  dome  above  him,  so  there  is  no  separation  be- 
tween the  Christ  within  man  and  his  Father,  for  they 
are  forever  inseparable,  and  the  Christ  within  man  will 
cause  him  to  become  conscious  of  his  at-one-ment  with 
the  Father.    Then  man  lays  his  cares  and  anxieties  aside. 


Man,  the  "Crowning  Glory  of  God"  75 

for,  through  understanding,  Love  and  Devotion,  he  has 
crossed  the  border  line  and  lives  in  the  Eternal  Now. 
All  tears  are  wiped  away,  because  he  sees  only  the  Lov- 
ing Presence  of  his  Father  expressing  all  about  him  and 
in  this  Blissful  Presence  he  rests  in  ecstasy  so  great  that 
he  is  filled  with  Life,  Love,  Light,  Peace;  and  these, 
blending  together  in  sweet  rhythm  within  and  about  him, 
cause  his  Soul  to  expand  in  singing  the  Hosannas  which 
are  expressive  of  the  Soul. 

Here  the  Angels  of  one  accord  join  in  the  glad  refrain 
and  the  heavenly  host  proclaim,  ** Christ  is  risen!  Is 
risen  today   and  God,  Aum,  is  again  glorified. ' ' 

Man,  as  a  mortal,  passes  through  the  experiences  of 
earth.  Birth  and  death  are  only  occurrences  upon  the 
path,  incidents,  marking  his  coming  and  going,  which  do 
not  touch  the  man  of  God's  creation;  just  as  the  coming 
and  going  of  the  seasons  do  not  interfere  with  time,  but 
only  are  as  dust  about  the  wheel  as  it  rolls  on. 

As  man  passes  from  his  house  of  clay  at  dissolution, 
he  leaves  his  physical  habitation  behind  him.  Unwise 
loved  ones  weep  as  it  is  laid  in  the  tomb,  but  the  man 
who  was  the  inhabitant  lives  on,  is  conscious  according  to 
his  condition,  which  is  established  by  the  deeds  done  in 
his  body.  If  he  lived  in  a  darkened,  selfish  state,  death 
will  place  him  in  corresponding  environments ;  and  there 
he  remains  until  the  inexorable  law  of  Cause  and  Effect 
calls  him  forth,  and  the  Intelligence  which  is  Infinite, 
and  governing  all,  here  upon  earth  as  in  the  highest  of 
the  heavens,  guides  his  Soul  to  take  rebirth  where  best  it 
can  continue  the  solving  of  his  problem.  He  has  not 
gained  anything  while  away  from  a  body.  He  only  en- 
joyed his  merit  which  was  the  reward  of  good  deeds  and 
kind  acts;  or  he  suffered  the  consequences  of  his  bad 
deeds  and  unkind  acts.  Heaven  and  Hell  are  states  of 
mind,  and  can  either  become  dominant  in  the  mind  and 
express  in  the  surroundings  here  upon  this  plane,  or  after 
the  Soul  has  passed  to  the  other  sphere.  They  are  both 
transient  to  man  at  this  place  upon  his  path. 


76  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

A  Soul  which  has  passed  far  upon  his  path  through 
earth  *s  experiences  and  has  become  awakened  and 
learned  the  Truth  concerning  himself,  God  and  the  Uni- 
verse may  pass  through  the  change  called  death  in  a 
conscious  state  of  mind  which  is  much  better  and  easier. 

The  man  there  has  the  same  desires,  loves,  hates  and 
beliefs  which  he  entertained  as  true  when  in  the  body. 
Man,  who  so  desires,  can  improve  his  time  there,  as  there 
are  teachers  to  help  him.  What  he  there  learns  he  will 
lose  consciousness  of  when  he  takes  birth  again ;  but  the 
right  conditions  will  bring  it  to  his  remembrance  and  it 
will  be  of  assistance  to  him  in  his  experiences  which  he 
then  encounters.  ''Eternal  Progression  is  the  march  of 
the  Soul." 

It  was  Jesus'  Love  and  Compassion  for  mankind  which 
drew  Him  to  the  ' '  Spirits  in  prison '  *  to  reveal  hope  and 
cheer  to  them.  He  said  to  the  thief  upon  the  Cross  by 
His  side,  ' '  This  day  thou  shalt  be  with  Me  in  Paradise. ' ' 
Jesus  understood  that  sphere  as  well  as  this,  and  He  must 
have  known  that  the  thief  would  be  conscious.  The  thief 
who  was  crucified  upon  His  other  side  was  in  a  lesser  de- 
gree of  unfoldment,  for  even  such  close  proximity  to  the 
Christ  had  not  the  power  to  move  him  forward,  as  he 
must  do  this  through  learning  for  himself  the  Truth  and 
the  problem  of  solving  his  experiences  here  in  carnality. 

When  Mary  would  have  approached  nearer  to  Jesus 
on  the  resurrection  morning  He  said  to  her,  ' '  Touch  me 
not !  for  I  have  not  yet  ascended  to  my  Father. ' '  This  is 
convincing  evidence  that  there  is  an  intermediate  state. 

No  Soul  is  ever  lost  to  the  Omnipresent  Aum,  and  none 
forever  lost  to  their  own  consciousness.  They  may  be 
lost  at  long  periods  of  time  in  the  confusions  of  their  own 
mind;  but  in  time  they  will  pass  through  the  Forest  of 
Confusions  and  again  come  into  the  calm,  clear  Light. 

Jesus  saw  best  to  give  only  glimpses  of  the  experiences 
of  man  beyond  this  sphere,  as  man's  work  must  be  done 
here  in  the  body  on  this  plane.  It  matters  not  if  it  is  a 
few  years  or  a  few  cycles,  it  is  to  be  accomplished  here. 


Man,  the  ''Crowning  Glory  of  God"  77 

When  man  knows  he  is  the  ''Crowning  Glory  of  the 
Living  God"  and  understands  consciously  concerning 
himself,  he  will  perceive  his  unchangeableness  and  rec- 
ognize the  attributes  of  God  with  which  he  was  endued 
at  the  dawn  of  creation  when  all  expressed  Harmony, 
Peace,  Love,  Life  arid  Power  and  where  an  opposing 
force  was  not  recognized. 

Infancy  is  perfect ;  so  is  manhood ;  but  the  infant  has 
not  the  wisdom  of  the  full-grown  man,  nor  is  so  much 
required  of  it. 

When  man  has  arrived  at  the  point  on  his  path  where 
he  has  ten  talents,  his  gratitude  to  the  Father-Mother 
should  be  expressed  through  his  love  for  and  desire  to 
assist  humanity,  and  especially  those  who  are  aroused. 
Man  can  serve  God  through  his  kindness  to  his  fellow- 
man. 

If  man  will  take  up  the  arguments  of  reason  and 
follow  them  out,  it  will  result  in  something  like  this: 
"Why  should  I,  a  sojourner  in  these  confusing  environ- 
ments, become  unkind  to  my  fellow-man  who  is  here,  the 
same  as  I,  'not  knowing  from  whence  he  came,  neither 
whither  he  goeth'?  If  he  should  become  excited  and 
express  anger  or  dishonesty,  why  should  I  condemn  him  ? 
Who  am  I,  that  I  should  criticize  another  when  that  one 
is  the  Father 's  child,  the  same  as  I  ? " 

If  man  will  follow  out  the  arguments  of  reason  unto 
their  final  conclusions,  he  no  doubt  will  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  Love  and  Kindness  are  graces  for  all  to  use 
who  are  in  the  House  of  God.  The  Earth  is  the  Garden, 
but  the  Heart  of  God  is  the  House,  and  all  of  God's 
creation  dwell  there.  Strife  will  then  cease,  hatred  be 
consumed  by  Love,  and  revenge  be  replaced  with  kind- 
ness. 

To  the  awakened  man  we  appeal,  the  one  with  ten 
talents;  "all  mankind  is  thy  brother,  and  races  and  na- 
tions are  one  combined  household.  It  is  not  well  to  bury 
thy  talents,  but  to  use  them." 


78  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Infinite  Love  leads,  guides  and  sustains  the  one  who  is 
awakened  to  receive  the  Spirit  of  Truth.  He  needs  not 
to  entertain  fear,  for  Love  overshadows;  nor  see  lack, 
because  he  stands  in  the  storehouse  of  the  Infinite  and 
**the  Father  saith  all  things  are  thine."  If  Love  is  one 
of  the  talents  he  has,  he  will  use  that  to  enter  into  the 
Father's  storehouse;  for  Love  is  the  key  which  unlocks 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  When  this  is  established  in 
the  consciousness,  man  is  no  longer  a  slave  to  carnality, 
which  is  the  earth-mind  and  conditions. 

''Man,  the  Crowning  Glory  of  God,"  is  the  ''Image 
and  Likeness  of  God"  and  is  endued  with  dominion. 
When  God  endued  man  with  dominion  it  was  for  Eter- 
nity; but  it  lies  dormant  as  long  as  man  is  under  the 
dominance  of  the  carnal  mind.  This  mind  of  the  earth- 
man  gains  such  sway  over  man  that  he  is  a  dreamer  in  a 
sound  sleep  until  he,  at  eventide,  or  perchance  in  the 
midnight  darkness,  hears  the  voice  of  God  as  it  passes 
through  the  Garden.  If  man  hears  "the  Still  Small 
Voice"  distinctly,  he  will  be  so  thoroughly  aroused  that 
he  will  not  slumber  again. 

What  is  the  Crowning  Glory  of  God  which  "Man,  the 
Image  and  Likeness  of  God,"  is?  The  Glory  of  God  is 
that  celestial  Light,  Life,  Love  and  Peace  which  man 
expresses  as  he  glows  with  the  brightness  as  of  the  noon- 
day sun.  Glory  is  the  transparency  of  God  in  expres- 
sion. Through  Glory  man  sees  God  clearly,  and  not  ' '  as 
through  a  glass  darkly."  When  man  has  come  into  the 
Light  of  the  Glory  of  God  and  walks  consciously  therein 
in  an  illumined  state  of  consciousness,  he  will  behold  the 
Glory  of  God  so  clearly  that  it  will  cause  the  veil  of  his 
Temple  to  be  rent  in  twain,  when  he  will  see  himself  as 
the  Glory  of  God  expressed. 

When  the  Veil  is  rent  in  twain  there  is  no  longer  a 
wall  or  partition  in  man  between  his  two  states  of  con- 
sciousness, represented  by  the  outer  and  inner  of  man's 
concept  of  himself.  When  he  comes  into  an  understand- 
ing of  himself  as  the  "Crowning  Glory  of  God"  man 


Man,  the  ''Crowning  Glory  of  God*'  79 

will  understand  ''the  Glorious  Liberty  of  the  Sons  of 
God." 

The  hand  on  the  dial  of  time  points  to  the  hour  for 
the  fulfilling  for  this  consummate  work  in  man,  and  it 
is  Now ! 

If  man  has  become  sufficiently  aroused  to  know  he  has 
and  does  hear  the  "Still  Sweet  Voice  of  God/'  and  will 
look  and  listen,  he  will  hear  the  Glory  of  God  expressed 
through  the  song  of  the  birds,  the  cooing  of  the  doves,  the 
spring  greeting  of  the  robins,  the  noonday  notes  of  the 
meadow  lark,  the  roar  of  the  ocean,  the  murmur  of  the 
breeze ;  he  also  will  see  it  expressed  in  the  mantle  which 
covers  the  verdant  vales,  mountains  and  seas,  and  the 
flowers  which  adorn  man's  path,  be  it  high  or  low,  as  he 
journeys  toward  the  Infinite. 

Man  cannot  see  one — no  not  one — expression  of  life 
or  beauty  about  him  but  that  it  expresses  the  Glory  of 
God,  when  he  is  sufficiently  awakened  to  hear  distinctly 
and  see  clearly,  because  God  is  everywhere  and  Infinite 
Love  only  bides  man 's  time,  and,  with  loving  kindness,  is 
ever  near  with  outstretched  arm  to  welcome  man,  the 
Prodigal  Son,  when  he  returns  home  to  his  Father's 
House. 

When  man  perceives,  understands  and  loves  the  Glory 
of  God,  he  will  learn  he  has  never  been  away  from  Home, 
except  in  his  misconception  of  himself,  of  God  and  the 
Universe. 

There  is  a  period  of  unfoldment,  of  growth,  if  you 
please,  for  every  infant  until  it  reaches  manhood. 

A  child  makes  many  mistakes,  but,  if  it  is  wise,  will 
learn  its  lessons  therefrom.  If  not  wise,  it  will  be  held 
long  upon  the  path  until  it  has  completed  its  experiences 
in  that  particular  condition  where  it  fellowships  dark- 
ness. 

Every  infant  has  its  own  path  to  travel.  Each  one  is 
an  individual  expression  of  the  Living  God  and  account- 
able, in  the  law  of  Cause  and  Effect,  for  the  deeds  done  in 
its  body. 


80  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

As  an  infant  passes  from  infancy  to  childhood,  then  to 
manhood  in  its  different  stages,  so  the  Soul-man,  after  it 
has  once  become  encased  in  the  environment  of  clay, 
moves  on  from  one  stage  of  unfoldment  to  another  until 
it  reaches  perfection  in  the  outer. 

Perfection  existed  in  the  Soul  continuously,  even  from 
that  great  morn  when  it,  at  God's  request,  stepped  forth 
from  the  womb  of  the  Infinite,  an  individualized  mani- 
festation of  the  Living  God. 

The  diamond  is  crystal  in  its  perfection,  even  while  it 
is  buried  deep  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth;  but  an  outer 
encasement  has  become  attached  to  it  so  strongly  that  its 
beauty  is  lost  to  the  outer  sight ;  but  Intelligence  knows 
that  the  diamond  is  there  and  never  loses  sight  of  it. 
Ignorance,  long  since,  knew  nothing  of  the  rare  diamond 
and  its  indwelling  perfection,  because  it  sees  only  the 
outer  covering  and  judges  by  appearance. 

The  Intelligence  which  is  will  some  day  guide  the 
miner  to  the  place  where  the  diamond  is,  and  he  will 
raise  it  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth  to  the  surface  and 
turn  it  over  to  the  workman,  who  will  polish  it  until  the 
diamond  expert  accepts  it,  a  perfect  gem,  as  the  spark- 
ling jewel  expresses  the  Glory  of  God. 

Man  himself  is  the  workman  who  will  chisel  the  rough 
surface  and  continue  to  so  do  until  the  diamond  is  ex- 
posed to  view.  Then  he  will  begin  his  task  of  polishing, 
which  task  is  not  for  his  own  glory,  but  that  he  may 
express  the  Glory  of  God  to  the  family  of  men,  that  they, 
too,  may  discover  the  diamond  which  is  hidden  deep  in 
the  earth  by  their  outer  encasement,  or  mortal  body. 

What  is  the  miner  which  Infinite  Intelligence  guides 
to  go  deep  into  the  earth  to  seek  for  the  diamond  ?  And 
what  is  the  diamond  which  is  sought  ?  It  is  the  mind  of 
man.  The  diamond  within  his  earth-encasement  is  man 's 
self,  ''the  Image  and  Likeness  of  God.*' 

As  the  Light  becomes  more  clear  in  man's  mind,  he 
digs  deep  and  searches  bravely,  that  he  may  learn  to 
know  only  the  Soul,  "the  Real  I  of  his  being,"  and,  when 


Man,  the  '* Crowning  Glory  of  God"  81 

the  debris  of  earth  is  cleared  away,  what  has  he  to  pre- 
sent to  mankind  ?  The  Diamond !  * '  The  Crowning  Glory 
of  God." 

Man  must  awaken  from  his  Adam  Sleep  which  all  the 
inhabitants  of  earth  pass  into,  as  they  move  out  from 
Paradise  into  experience.  Man  may  sleep  so  soundly 
that  centuries  pass  without  his  taking  note  of  them,  but 
he  gains  nothing  by  the  passing  of  time  and  the  encoun- 
tering of  experience  until  he  awakens. 

Light  is  God,  and  it  lighteth  every  man  as  he  moves 
along  the  Path  which  lies  between  the  sense-conscious- 
ness and  the  Soul- Consciousness.  This  space  is  not  trav- 
eled by  a  single  bound ;  but,  as  the  rosebud  unfolds  petal 
by  petal  until  the  heart  of  the  rose  is  uncovered  and 
exposed  to  the  sun,  so  man,  by  his  own  efforts,  guided  and 
sustained  by  Infinite  Love,  must  clear  away  ignorance, 
superstition,  selfishness  and  bigotry  and  stand  with  his 
heart  and  mind  uncovered  before  the  Face  of  God,  the 
Omnipresent  Aum,  Who  knows  the  very  thoughts  of  the 
mind  and  every  desire  of  the  heart  and  the  man's 
beauty  which  is  from  Eternity. 

When  man  learns  this  he  will  turn  to  the  Omnipresent 
God  and  ask  for  guidance  and  sustenance.  He  will  no 
longer  attempt  to  build  his  own  wall  of  defense,  but  will 
cast  his  burdens  down  ' '  at  the  feet  of  Him  whom  to  know 
aright  is  Life  Eternal."  Man,  then,  will  desire  to  un- 
derstand the  Omnipresence  and  Omnipotence  of  God. 

Man's  destiny  is  firm  and  forever  fixed  and  none  can 
hinder  its  fulfillment;  yet  man  shapes  his  own  destiny, 
and  no  man  knoweth  how  long  man  will  sojourn  here 
upon  earth. 

When  man  ate  of  the  Fruit  of  the  Tree  of  Knowledge, 
which  is  Good  and  Evil,  his  mind  became  confused  be- 
cause there  was  then  consciousness  of  both  Good  and 
Evil:  while,  before,  there  was  only  Good  recognized  by 
man;  and,  as  the  combination  accumulated  in  man's 
mind,  he  lost  sight  of  the  Omnipresence  of  Aum  and, 
looking  outward,  lost  his  way  and  has  passed  down  these 


82  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

centuries  seeking  to  know  God;  and,  as  long  as  man 
believes  God  to  be  a  distance  from  him,  lie  has  not  con- 
tentment, but  is  ever  following  the  will-o'-the-wisp  of 
carnality. 

God  spake  to  one  of  His  faithful  ones  ages  ago  and 
said,  *'Be  still  and  know  that  I  am  God" ;  and  Jesus  told 
them  to  remember,  ''The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  within," 
saying  also,  '  *  God  dwells  in  His  Kingdom. ' ' 

Man,  what  art  thou  that  God  should  be  mindful  of 
thee? 

Turn  the  lens  of  the  mind  within  and  searth  out  your 
True  Being  and  you  will  discern  the  diamond  of  rarest 
value  which  you  are.  It  is  crystal  clear,  not  a  speck  of 
earth  adhering.  It  is  so  pure  and  holy  that  earth  cannot 
contaminate  it.  God  has  seen  man  thus  all  through  his 
ongoings,  and  not  for  one  moment  has  He  forgotten  to 
be  mindful  of  man. 

Infinite  Love  is  so  great  that  man  in  his  ignorance  can 
not  sink  so  deep  but  God's  Love  and  Care  is  there. 

When  man  remembers  that  God,  the  Loving,  Tender 
and  Ever-Present  Father-Mother,  is  ever  mindful  of  him, 
he  will  soon  begin  to  be  still  that  he  may  know  that  God 
is  near,  when  he  will  turn  to  Him  for  succor  in  time  of 
need.  ''I  will  never  leave  thee,  nor  forsake  thee!"  is 
the  promise  of  Infinite  Love. 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  perfect  expression  of  man  as  the 
''Crowning  Glory  of  God."  He  gave  a  message  which 
will  enlighten  man  into  this  higher  Light. 

God  reigns  Supreme!  Let  all  men  bow  in  reverence 
before  the  Presence  which  is  our  Father-Mother-God,  in 
"Whom  they  live,  move  and  have  their  being." 

This  great  Presence  fills  all  space,  and  is  here  in  man's 
heart,  mind,  body  and  environments. 

Let  every  man  become  conscious  that  "he  is  hid  with 
Christ  in  God"  and  that  he,  as  God's  manifestation,  is 
' '  Man,  the  Crowning  Glory  of  God. ' ' 


CHAPTER  VI 
CARNALITY  AND  ITS  WAYS 

WE  have  dwelt  upon  the  Greatness  and  Small- 
less  of  God  in  a  preceding  chapter.  Carnality, 
being  the  counterfeit  and  opposite  of  God,  re- 
quires analyzing,  also,  from  its  seeming  greatness  to  its 
seeming  smallness. 

As  long  as  man  lives  in  the  natural  state  he  accepts 
carnality  in  its  entirety  as  real.  So  real  does  it  seem  to 
the  natural  man  that  when  a  man  now  and  then  down 
the  ages  which  have  passed  bursts  the  shell  of  carnality 
and  peeps  out  from  his  cloister  and  catches  a  glimpse  of 
the  Truth  as  it  really  is,  and  begins  to  tell  it  to  his  fellow- 
man,  they  cry,  "Slay  him!"    ''Crucify  him!*' 

There  is  nothing  that  touches  the  whole  web  of  car- 
nality, which  causes  it  to  raise  its  strong  arm  to  strike 
with  the  desire  to  destroy,  like  the  Truth.  When  we  see 
carnality  as  it  really  is  we  can  understand  this. 

In  reality  carnality  is  only  an  illusion  which  has 
formed  in  the  mind  as  it  began  to  partake  of  both  Good 
and  Evil,  causing  a  confused  state ;  and,  as  the  illusions 
become  more  firmly  fixed  in  the  mind  of  man,  he,  having 
through  these  lost  sight  of  the  Truth  of  his  Being,  now 
believes  things,  man  and  the  world  as  he  sees  it,  are  as 
God  created  them. 

As  long  as  man  believes  that  the  outer  as  he  sees  it  is 
the  expression  of  God,  his  mind  is  filled  with  that  belief, 
it  governs  him  and  he  lives  accordingly. 

What  is  the  belief  of  the  carnal  man  ?  That  he  is  the 
Real  Man  and  that  he  is  a  victim  of  his  environments, 

83 


84  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

and  that  pain,  disease  and  death  are  his  masters,  and 
that  matter  is  real  and  the  master  over  him.  He  believes 
that  his  body  is  he,  his  Soul  being  only  an  entity  which 
he,  the  matter-man,  does  not  understand  and  could  not 
recognize  except  from  the  observation  of  dissolution  when 
death  takes  place. 

The  carnal  man  looks  upon  himself  as  a  ''breath  be- 
tween two  Eternities,"  of  which  he  knows  nothing,  as 
his  mind  reaches  only  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave.  This 
is  a  very  limited  view  indeed !  If  man  could  see  through 
and  beyond  the  horizon  of  carnality,  he  would  behold  a 
limitless  region  with  no  metes  and  bounds. 

When  the  man,  living  in  the  carnal  concept,  bursts 
through  the  confines  of  his  cloister  which  holds  him  in 
carnality  and  sees  the  Real  which  lies  around  and  about 
him,  he  has  passed  into  another  realm  or  state  of  mind  ; 
and,  as  his  mind  becomes  enlightened,  he  moves  out  from 
the  carnal  man 's  concept  of  himself  and  the  world  into  a 
truer  and  clearer  comprehension.  Then  the  work  of 
cleansing  his  mind  of  the  network  of  false  beliefs,  fears 
and  superstitions  begins.  This  is  not  accomplished  at  a 
single  bound,  but  step  by  step  as  man  passes  along  upon 
the  path.  Every  man  at  birth  finds  himself  upon  the 
carnal  path.  He  moves  forward  from  infancy  to  man- 
hood and  to  old  age.  As  long  as  man  lives  in  the  carnal 
mind's  concept  and  sees  only  with  the  natural  man's 
vision,  he  will  see  only  one  path,  which  he  will  walk 
along,  following  in  the  footsteps  of  those  who  have  been 
traveling  this  mistaken  way  for  ages.  No  man  on  the 
path  of  carnality  knows  the  way,  as  it  is  the  desire  of 
that  way's  ruling  sovereign  that  all  his  subjects  remain 
in  ignorance. 

What  is  carnality  ?  It  is  the  counterfeit  of  God 's  per- 
fect works.  As  there  is  the  Infinite  Intelligence,  which 
is  God  in  the  perfect,  so  there  is  the  counterfeit  or 
reflected  intelligence  in  carnalilty.  Carnality,  being 
finite,  is  limited  and  does  not  see  clearly,  but  * '  as  through 


Carnality  and  Its  Ways  85 

a  glass  darkly/'  and  has  not  the  wisdom  to  see  ''things 
that  seem  to  be  as  though  they  were  not. ' ' 

In  the  allegory  of  creation  as  portrayed  in  Genesis,  we 
read,  *'A  mist  arose/*  This  mist  represents  the  confu- 
sion which  came  into  the  mind  after  man  partook  of  the 
Fruit  which  grew  on  the  Tree  that  was  in  the  midst  of 
the  Garden  and  which  is  called  the  *  *  Tree  of  the  Knowl- 
edge of  Good  and  Evil."  Good  and  Evil  are  opposites. 
Therefore,  when  man  partakes  of  both  there  is  a  mixture 
which  results  in  a  confused  state  of  mind.  When  con- 
fusion is  in  the  mind  harmony  and  insight  have  retired, 
as  in  the  midst  of  confusion  these  cannot  be  recognized. 

There  was  only  God,  Aum,  and  His  Creation,  or  ex- 
pression; and  in  reality  this  is  true  now.  However,  we 
seemingly  have  an  opposite  which  is  very  real  to  the 
natural  man  and  of  great  power. 

So  deeply  has  man  become  lost  in  the  illusions  of  car- 
nality that  when  he  is  aroused  it  requires  deep  sincerity 
and  earnest  effort  to  disentangle  himself  from  the  mist 
which  covers  the  face  of  the  earth. 

The  mists  which  arose  were  caused  by  the  confusions 
arising  in  the  mind  of  man  after  he  had  eaten  of  the 
mixed  fruit.  Good  and  Evil. 

It  is  the  single  eye  which  is  required  by  man  to  enable 
him  to  again  find  his  way  through  the  undergrowth  of 
the  Forest  of  Carnality. 

The  ways  of  carnality  are  many  and  varied.  Some 
lead  through  pleasant  fields,  some  over  rocky  steeps, 
some  through  deserts,  some  over  the  mountain  ranges. 

As  God's  Law  governs  and  operates  throughout  the 
Perfect  Creation  of  Aum,  so  there  is  the  carnal  law, 
operating  in  carnality  from  man  to  the  least  expression 
in  the  carnal  universe.  This  law,  being  a  reflection  of 
the  One  Eternal  Law,  rules  the  natural  world  and  man 
with  persistency  and  power. 

Jesus  Christ,  with  understanding,  said:  ''Render, 
therefore,  unto  Caesar  those  things  which  are  Caesar's, 
and  unto  God  the  things  which  are  God's."  (St.  Luke 


S6  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

20:25.)  It  is  understanding  which  man  requires  to 
enable  him  to  see  distinctly  between  the  two  laws  which 
he  is  to  observe.  One  is  from  above,  the  other  is  from 
beneath.  One  cometh  from  God,  or  is  God,  and  the  other 
originated  in  the  mind  of  man. 

God's  creation  is  limitless  and  boundless,  but  man,  be- 
ing an  individualized  manifestation  of  the  Infinite,  his 
creations  are  finite  or  limited  and  have  not  the  endurance 
of  Eternity  back  of  them.  Therefore,  we  find  a  changing, 
fleeting  and  unsettled  condition  in  carnality.  It  will 
ever  be  thus,  as  there  can  be  no  fixity  in  mist  or  shadows. 

"When  the  mind  of  man  began  to  look  away  from  God 
as  the  Source  of  All  and  the  reality  of  every  good,  he 
then  began  to  eat  of  the  forbidden  fruit. 

The  mind  of  man  was  clear  and  calm  during  his  stay 
in  Paradise,  which  clearness  and  calmness  in  all  proba- 
bility extended  into  millions  of  years,  until  he  began  to 
look  away  from  God.  This  caused  him  to  seek  outside 
of  himself  for  sustenance  and  companionship. 

Man  had  dwelt  so  close  to  Infinite  Love  as  to  be  sus- 
tained by  it  and  to  feel  its  presence  until  no  other  com- 
panionship was  required.  There  was  no  care  nor  anxious 
thought,  just  an  abiding  consciously  in  Bliss.  Then  man 
began  to  lose  his  mental  equilibrium  by  looking  away 
from  God  and  wondering  in  his  mind  how  it  might  be,  if 
it  were  different;  and  here  is  where  the  first  thought 
appeared  which  in  the  fullness  of  time  outpictured  car- 
nality, becoming  the  carnal  mind  and  its  expressions. 

So  the  seekers  after  the  deep  things  of  God  will  per- 
ceive that  carnality  is  the  shadow  of  the  web  which  has 
formed  in  the  mind  since  it  began  to  look  away  from 
God. 

We  read,  * '  God  is  All !  and  beside  Him  there  is  none 
else.''  Here  the  reason  will  say,  how  can  this  be  true 
when  we  have  carnality  presented  to  our  view?  How- 
ever, with  the  reason  one  can  see  the  logic,  because  a 
shadow  can  abide  in  the  sunshine  and  occupy  no  place. 


Carnality  and  Its  Ways  87 

What  is  it  that  has  influence  over  the  shadow?  The 
creator  thereof.  What  is  the  creator  of  the  shadow? 
The  carnal  mind  of  man.  How  did  these  thoughts  begin 
to  form  in  man's  mind?  By  the  desire  to  know  how  it 
would  be,  if  man  were  away  from  the  Bliss  of  Paradise, 
which  is  the  consciousness  of  being  in  the  presence  of 
Aum,  our  Father-Mother-God.  These  thoughts,  being 
prolific,  have  formed  the  conscious  mind  in  man  so  strong 
that  man  has  forgotten  that  he  at  one  time  had  a  mind 
clear,  calm  and  strong,  it  being  the  One  Intelligence  of 
our  Father-Mother-God. 

We  will  reiterate  here,  somewhat,  to  enable  the  reader 
to  become  clear  upon  the  vital  point  of  this  chapter, 
which  is  that  the  One  Mind,  the  God-Mind  which  is  Im- 
mortal, became  individualized  in  each  man.  There  was 
no  other  mind.  Therefore,  this  mind  operated  through 
each  man.  This  mind  in  the  individualized  man  reflected 
the  Father's  Mind. 

We  find  in  the  Scriptures  that  God  caused  creation  to 
become  manifest.  There  was  in  the  Divine  Mind  of  God 
a  desire  and  through  that  desire  change  took  place. 
Man's  mind  in  Paradise  reflected  the  One  Mind  so  clearly 
that  man,  too,  desired  a  change.  This  desire  caused  the 
forming  of  the  mind  in  man  which  began  its  creation. 

God  being  Infinite,  His  creation  is  limitless  and  bound- 
less. Man  being  the  individualized  manifestation  of  the 
Infinite,  man 's  creations  are  finite,  limited. 

Here,  at  this  early  dawn,  is  where  carnality  came  into 
expression,  and  is  the  expression  of  the  mind  of  man 
after  that  he  has  partaken  of  the  fruit  which  is  forbidden 
by  Infinite  Intelligence. 

As  the  Father-Mother-God  neither  sleeps  nor  slumbers 
and  is  ever  alert  to  assist  His  children  when  they  call  to 
Him  for  assistance,  so  man  will  not  be  permitted  to  enter 
into  an  Eternal  State  of  Bliss  until  he  has  met  and  mas- 
tered, through  blessings  and  kindness,  all  the  thoughts 
which  have  been  created  in  his  mind  since  the  dawn  of 


88  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

that  day  when  he  permitted  the  desire  of  a  change  to 
enter  and  abide  within  his  mind. 

"When  man  again  stands  in  Paradise  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  his  nearness,  yea,  at-one-ment  with  the  Father, 
his  mind  will  be  as  crystal  clear  as  it  was  before  a  desire 
for  change  entered. 

It  is  a  long  and,  perchance,  winding  path  he  travels 
from  that  early  morning  until  this  time  when  he  again 
stands  consciously  in  the  presence  of  that  which  is, — Our 
Father-Mother-God,  **the  All-Knowing  and  All-Seeing 
Presence ' '  of  the  Infinite,  Whose  sacred  name  is  Aum. 

As  man  eats  of  the  Fruit  of  the  '^Tree  of  Knowledge 
of  Good  and  Evil, "  it  is  pleasing  to  the  taste  and  enticing 
to  the  eye,  leading  him  on  in  the  darkness,  being  the 
reigning  sovereign  over  his  creation,  man  lives  and  rules 
as  he  desires,  and  from  that  desire  to  rule  we  find  that  it 
out-pictures  in  evil  chiefs  of  tribes  in  the  ancient  times 
and  cruel  kings  in  more  recent  days.  The  same  condi- 
tions in  the  mind  in  chiefs  and  kings  which  cause  them 
to  be  evil  and  cruel  exist  in  all  individuals,  and  they  as 
well  as  the  rulers,  by  the  unerring  law  of  Cause  and 
Effect,  are  compelled  to  pay  "even  unto  the  very  last 
farthing.  ^ ' 

God's  Law  is  Justice  and  Love,  and  the  carnal  man, 
in  his  reflection  of  Love  and  Justice,  has  endeavored  to 
form  laws  to  cause  justice  to  be  established  among  man- 
kind; but  the  natural  mind  of  man,  being  nearer  the 
earth's  conditions,  which  are  carnal,  is  more  desirous  of 
justice  than  of  Love;  but,  as  the  mind  of  man  erases  a 
few  of  the  thoughts  of  carnality  it  begins  to  reflect  Love. 

We  find  love  in  the  natural  man,  but  it  is  of  the  earth, 
earthy,  it  being  only  the  reflection  of  the  Love  that  is 
God,  which  Love  is  Eternal  and  unchangeable. 

The  natural  man  sees  the  shadows  change  as  the  solar 
sun  rises  and  sets  and  the  seasons  come  and  go.  He  sees 
the  infant  born,  grow  to  childhood,  to  manhood,  and  pass 
on  to  old  age.  He  sees  all  these  different  stages  of  the 
natural  man's  growth  about  him  in  carnality.     He,  not 


Carnality  and  Its  Ways  89 

having  awakened  to  an  understanding  of  the  Truth  of 
his  being  and  of  the  perfect  creation  of  God,  believes 
this  panorama  of  changing  experiences  which  he  sees 
daily  to  be  the  only  creation.  Therefore,  if  he  believes 
in  God  he  thinks  God  caused  this  which  he  sees. 

God  is  ever  mindful  of  His  Creation  and  does  not  lose 
sight  of  even  the  least  part  of  it,  though  the  carnal  man 
may  have  long  since  ceased  to  know  God. 

Carnality  is  a  quagmire.  When  man  steps  into  it  he 
begins  to  sink  and  its  laws,  being  such  as  they  are,  act 
as  magnets  to  his  feet,  drawing  and  holding  him  down 
until  he  has  reached  the  arm-pits.  He  then  sees  that  he 
of  himself  cannot  raise  himself  and  in  his  extremity  calls 
for  aid.    Then  it  is  that  he  remembers  God. 

Carnality  is  the  home  of  the  natural  man.  It  is  his 
habitation  until  he  discovers  that  there  is  a  Promised 
Land.  In  that  carnal  state  man  works  at  his  problem. 
When  man  became  conscious  of  this  world  he  found  it 
in  its  natural  state.  "The  earth  is  the  Lord's  and  the 
fullness  thereof.*'  Man  at  creation  was  endued  with 
dominion  and  was  commanded  by  Infinite  Love  to  go 
forth  and  subdue  the  earth  and  multiply  and  replenish  it. 

Man  first  dwelt  in  the  woods  without  houses,  but  as  his 
mind  began  to  expand  he  cut  branches  from  the  trees 
and  made  covering.  Then  he  cut  small  trees  and  placed 
them  together  and  thatched  the  roof  with  their  branches. 
From  this  crude  expression  of  the  idea  of  a  house  to 
dwell  in  we  have  the  convenient,  comfortable  and  beau- 
tiful houses  of  modern  civilization. 

We  will  follow  man  into  and  through  some  of  the  stages 
of  development  between  the  hut  in  the  forest  and  the 
home  in  the  cave  of  the  cave-dweller,  up  to  the  present 
time. 

The  natural  man  from  his  advent  into  carnality  has 
groped  his  way  through  the  darkness,  not  seeing  even  a 
step,  and  has  been  compelled  to  strive  continually  for 
something  ahead  of  him. 


90  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

When  the  idea  of  a  house  for  habitation  came  into  the 
mind  of  man,  the  idea  was  vague,  but  he  set  about  to 
express  it.  Through  hard  labor  and  inventions  he  has 
achieved  much  along  these  lines.  He  learned  that  the 
marble  in  the  mountains  could  be  polished,  and  he 
brought  into  expression  implements  with  which  to  polish 
it.  Then  machinery  must  be  invented  and  made  and 
set  into  action  to  move  the  marble  into  the  proper  posi- 
tion to  build  the  white  palaces  and  from  which  to  chisel 
the  statues  of  noted  men. 

The  natural  man  knew  not  at  first  how  to  sculpture 
and  what  he  did  was  of  the  crudest  workmanship,  but 
little  by  little  the  gem  of  genius  was  brought  forth  in 
its  power  to  express  until  some  of  the  works  of  man's 
hand  became  '*a  thing  of  beauty  and  a  joy." 

At  first  man  ate  of  the  natural  fruits  and  nuts  of  the 
Garden,  not  knowing  how  to  improve  and  increase  them ; 
but  Adam  was  commanded  to  till  the  ground.  His  im- 
plements were  the  natural  things  about  him.  * '  Necessity 
is  ever  the  mother  of  inventions,"  in  this  or  any  age, 
and  man  has  sought  out  many  inventions  until  today  we 
have  machinery  and  implements,  almost  in  their  perfec- 
tion, which  are  the  expression  of  the  advanced  mind 
which  has  traveled  from  the  prehistoric  days  to  the  time 
of  the  antediluvians  and  to  the  ancient  days  of  our  age 
and  on  down  to  this  present  time,  where  man's  mind  has 
almost  touched  the  consciousness  of  being  again  in  close 
proximity  to  the  God-mind. 

When  man  learns  to  be  still  in  the  presence  of  God,  he 
will  be  able  to  draw  all  desired  knowledge  from  that 
Source.  In  fact,  even  when  the  man  of  Prehistoric 
Times  caught  the  idea  of  a  house  in  his  mind,  that  idea 
came  to  his  mind  from  the  Infinite,  ''that  Over-Soul"  of 
all  men. 

In  the  first  stages  of  man's  experiences  upon  earth  his 
mind  is  heavy  and  he  expresses  grossly,  because  the  con- 
sciousness of  his  body  casts  such  a  heavy  shadow  that  his 
mind  seems  to  be  the  servant  of  his  body.    Even  now,  at 


Carnality  and  Its  Ways  91 

this  zenith  of  civilization,  when  the  intellect  has  almost 
reached  its  pinnacle  of  culture  and  power  to  achieve, 
matter  is  recognized  as  the  ruler  of  the  mind  and  seem- 
ingly holds  it  in  its  arms  of  steel. 

In  each  civilization  of  the  past,  when  it  reached  its 
zenith,  its  sun  began  to  decline  and  cast  the  slanting  rays 
of  evening.  As  the  sun  declines  civilization  wanes  and 
sinks  back  into  night,  only  to  again  in  some  new  dawn 
take  action  once  more;  and  this  is  the  age  in  which  the 
fulfilling  of  the  prophecies  will  take  place,  when  civiliza- 
tion is  to  be  transmuted  from  the  carnal  into  the  spiritual 
and  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  become  established  upon 
earth. 

The  minds  of  men  have  been  undergoing  a  quickening 
in  the  last  century  which  is  preparing  the  way.  The 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  must  be  established  in  the  mind  and 
heart  of  man  before  he  can  assist  to  establish  it  in  the 
earth. 

We  see  that  man  has  a  twofold  work  to  accomplish 
upon  the  earth.  When  man  came  forth  from  Paradise 
and  partook  of  the  Fruit  in  the  Garden  of  Eden,  he  was 
commanded  to  go  forth  and  subdue  the  earth. 

We  will  analyze  the  exoteric  and  esoteric  of  this  com- 
mand. Man,  in  the  natural  state,  is  ever  looking  out- 
ward. He  has  lost  sight  of  the  Divinity  within  him. 
Therefore,  not  knowing  the  chord  which  joins  him  for- 
ever to  his  Creator,  he  continued  to  look  at  the  world 
about  him,  and  saw  the  animals,  birds,  fish,  fowls,  rep- 
tiles and  vegetation,  and  understood  the  command  to  be 
that  he  was  to  domineer  over  the  lower  forms  of  creation. 

The  natural  man,  not  knowing  Divine  Love,  only 
knowing  the  natural  man's  love,  expresses  not  the  ten- 
derness and  kindness  of  Divine  Love.  Man  looked  out 
over  the  beautiful  plains,  with  the  broad  acres,  and  the 
selfish  element  of  the  animal  nature  in  him  desired  them 
all.  When  he  sees  others  settling  in  his  coveted  regions 
he  goes  to  war  to  overcome  them.  Then  we  have  carnality 
expressed  in  wars,  and  war  will  continue  until  the  King- 


92  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

dom  of  Heaven  is  established  upon  earth.  This  is  done, 
not  collectively,  but  individually,  just  one  by  one,  as 
man  awakens  and  ** seeks,  asks  and  knocks,'*  until  he  has 
found  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  within.  Then  he  begins 
to  express  it  around  him  and,  in  time,  enough  of  the 
men  of  earth  will  have  awakened  and  achieved  unto  this 
triumph  so  that  the  earth  will  become  filled  with  the 
glory  of  God  and  man,  ** God's  Image  and  Likeness,"  be 
at  Home  in  the  Father's  House.  It  is  then  that  man  has 
obeyed  the  command  to  the  outer  man. 

The  esoteric  command  is  to  the  individual,  and  to  obey 
that  command  is  the  work  which  man  finds  before  him 
when  he  awakens  from  the  carnal  sleep.  He  then  has 
the  animal  propensities  within  his  mind.  When  man 
was  living  in  the  carnal  nature  only  he  supposed  these 
conditions  of  mind  were  the  correct  ones.  He  believed 
it  right  and  proper  to  get  angry  when  he  thought  the 
occasion  demanded  it  and  to  abuse  his  fellow-man  if  he 
so  wished  and  could,  or  to  cause  his  servants  to  labor 
even  beyond  their  strength  that  he  might  become 
enriched. 

But  when  he  awakens  from  the  sleep  of  the  Adam- 
Dream  and  is  willing  to  be  taught  the  Truth  of  his  Being, 
he  will  soon  learn  that  his  work  is  within  his  own  mind 
and  heart.  It  is  the  inner  purifying  which  he  then  sees 
to  be  necessary.  He  soon  learns  that  anger  is  one  of  the 
first  animal  propensities  which  he  is  to  master,  as  it  is  an 
expression  of  selfishness,  and  selfishness  is  the  rock  upon 
which  carnality  stands,  the  rock  to  which  man  is  bound 
strongly  with  the  chains  of  ignorance  until  God-Love 
enters  the  mind  and  heart.  Love  alone  can  and  will,  if 
given  sway,  cause  the  strong  chains  to  dissolve  and  the 
rock  of  selfishness  to  be  consumed  in  the  fervent  heat  of 
its  Divine  Fires. 

Many  times  man  may  cry  out,  ''How  long,  0  God! 
how  long  ? ' '  but  if  his  heart  grows  not  faint  and  his  mind 
wavers  not,  he  will  overcome.    What  is  it  man  is  to  over- 


Carnality  and  Its  Ways  93 

come?  The  carnal  concept  which  has  formed  in  his 
mind. 

Man  *s  first  work  after  he  awakens  is  breaking  the  web 
of  the  carnal  beliefs  and  the  law  controlling  them  and 
clearing  his  mind  of  all  the  accumulation  of  the  false 
beliefs  of  carnality,  which  are  real  to  the  natural  man 
until  his  mind  becomes  clear,  calm  and  pure,  as  it  was 
when  man  dwelt  in  Paradise  in  the  Bosom  of  the  Father. 

The  question  may  be  asked,  ' '  How  can  this  be  done  ? '  * 
By  using  the  same  tools  which  Jesus  Christ  taught  us  to 
use.  He  spake  to  the  tempter,  "Get  thee  behind  me, 
satan."  This,  in  modern  language,  can  be  expressed  in 
denial  of  the  reality  and  power  of  the  carnal  man*s 
belief-mind  which  holds  him  in  bondage.  Man  can  rec- 
ognize that  he  has  a  mind  that  is  pure  and  holy  when 
these  carnal  beliefs,  fears  and  doubts  are  removed. 

Man  partook  of  the  Fruit  which  grew  on  the  tree  that 
was  in  the  midst  of  the  Garden.  This  brought  him  into 
the  generation  period.  Then  Infinite  Intelligence,  which 
ever  guides  man  in  as  much  as  man  will  permit,  caused 
him  to  be  removed  from  the  Garden  and  commanded  the 
male  and  female  of  God's  creation  to  multiply  and  re- 
plenish the  earth ;  and  Adam  was  told  to  earn  his  bread 
by  the  sweat  of  his  brow ;  and  Eve,  to  bring  forth  chil- 
dren in  pain  and  sorrow. 

Man  may  live  in  the  generation-concept  for  ages  before 
he  passes  out  from  that  period.  This  period  every  Soul 
passes  in  its  ongoings  through  experience  upon  the  path 
which  winds  through  carnality ;  but  there  comes  a  time, 
which  is  the  ripening  cycle  for  every  man,  when  he  will 
awaken  from  the  false  beliefs  which  hold  him  and 
through  his  own  efforts  and  the  assistance  from  above 
(given  when  he  asks  for  it)  begin  to  see  that  there  is  a 
higher  plane. 

As  man  has  passed  from  the  hut  in  the  woods  to  the 
marble  palace  through  seeking  to  achieve,  so  man  will 
find  that  the  way  which  leads  unto  the  Light  which  will 
shine  upon  his  path  is  a  way  requiring  labor  with  the 


94  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

self,  as  hard  and  severe  and  progressive  as  was  the  labor 
in  the  outer  to  build  the  house  of  marble ;  but  the  Over- 
shadowing Care  is  ever  near  and  holds  the  Intelligence 
which  is  required  at  each  step  and  gladly  reveals  it  to 
man  as  light  upon  his  path  when  he  asks  of  God  to  know 
the  way. 

If  man  had  not  the  generation  period  to  pass  through 
there  would  be  no  bodies  for  the  Souls  to  take  rebirth  in. 
Then  how  could  they  otherwise  finish  their  experiences 
unto  completeness  if  unable  to  return  to  earth,  and  how 
could  they  return  without  a  garment  to  wear  ? 

When  man  has  learned  his  lesson  until  he  understands 
the  great  scheme  of  carnality  and  the  Divine  Plan,  he 
then  passes  out  from  the  generation  into  the  regenera- 
tion, when  he  finds  just  as  much  to  learn  and  as  much  to 
master;  but,  as  the  lessons  to  be  learned  are  different 
when  the  pupil  passes  into  a  higher  grade  in  school,  so 
man  finds  here  in  the  school  of  regeneration.  He  then 
can  assist  those  who  are  in  trouble  and  sorrow  upon  that 
plane  of  generation,  because  he,  having  passed  through 
it,  understands  their  trials  and  sorrows. 

When  man  passes  into  the  regeneration  period  he  has 
touched,  at  least,  the  Christ- Consciousness ;  and  as  he 
learns  more  clearly  to  live  in  the  Christ,  he  will  become 
more  like  Him  until  he  reaches  the  full  Light  of  the 
great  Truth  in  the  Message  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  is  that 
man  shall,  when  he  *' knows  the  Truth,"  be  free  from 
carnality  and  bring  his  body,  also,  into  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven. 

Man  is  the  perfect  expression  of  God,  but  through  the 
confusions  of  carnality  he  has  permitted  a  robe  to  be 
placed  upon  him  which  is  of  the  earth,  earthy;  but,  as 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  to  be  established  upon  earth, 
man's  body  must  be  redeemed  through  Spiritual  Un- 
derstanding and  express  perfection  upon  the  earth.  Man, 
as  the  "Crowning  Glory  of  God,"  must  manifest  this 
glory  here  where  matter  and  man  must  be  redeemed 
together.    This  is  not  only  man's  duty,  but  his  privilege 


Carnality  and  Its  "Ways  95 

through  the  Christ.  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth  spent 
thirty-three  years,  by  earth's  reckoning,  among  the  men 
who  were  living  in  the  carnal  concept  to  give  the  instruc- 
tions which,  when  they  are  learned,  enable  men  to  under- 
stand how  to  bring  themselves  into  the  proper  attitude  in 
order  to  receive  the  final  touch  from  the  finger  of  God  at 
that  great  day  when  the  final  trump  shall  sound.  At 
that  time  the  dead  who  are  walking  the  earth  will 
arise  and  those  who  have  passed  the  Portal  between  this 
plane  and  the  next  will  be  quickened,  so  that  the  Son  of 
God  may  have  the  assistance  which  He  requires. 

When  the  winds  of  the  carnal  plane  blow  soft  and 
peaceful  over  man's  path,  he  gathers  the  flowers  which 
grow  along  its  sides,  pulls  the  petals  from  their  heart  and 
casts  them  at  his  feet  to  trample  upon.  He  gathers  the 
golden  grain  into  his  granaries  and  yearns  for  more. 
He  brings  the  gold  from  its  bed  in  the  mines  and  locks  it 
in  vaults  and  stands  guard  with  an  arm  of  steel.  He 
looks  only  to  the  natural  law  for  his  supply,  and  to  the 
natural  processes  of  the  minerals  in  the  earth  to  bring 
forth  gold.  He  only  sees  in  the  mist  which  hovers  over 
the  earth  from  the  carnal  state  of  man,  and  does  not 
know  as  yet  that  back  of  all  of  these  rests  the  great 
'*I  AM,"  without  Whom  none  of  these  things  which 
give  him  such  satisfaction  to  possess,  nor  even  himself, 
could  exist. 

In  Holy  Writ  we  read  that  the  Children  of  Israel  were 
forty  years  in  passing  through  the  wilderness.  They 
came  out  from  Egyptian  bondage  and  their  instructor 
was  a  man  of  God, — one  who  had  passed  far  enough 
through  the  experiences  of  earth  to  have  become  willing 
to  submit  his  carnal  will  unto  the  Father's  guiding. 
Him,  Jehovah  used  to  teach  and  lead  the  Hebrew 
children. 

He  began  to  teach  them  while  they  were  still  in  bond- 
age and,  after  their  minds  were  aroused  sufficiently  to 
listen  and  to  accept  his  teachings,  he  told  them  of  the 


96  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Promised  Land.  Their  Faith  was  strong  enough  in  his 
teachings  to  enable  them  to  follow  him. 

It  was  forty  years  from  the  time  they  started  out  of 
Egypt  until  they  came  to  the  border  of  the  Promised 
Land.  This  is  symbolical  of  the  period  of  time  man 
spends  in  carnality  and,  when  man  comes  to  the  border 
line  of  the  Promised  Land,  which  represents  the  Christ- 
Consciousness,  he  is  required  to  enter  and  inhabit  it. 

The  Children  of  Israel  found  giants  in  the  Promised 
Land,  and  we  read  that  they  went  to  war  with  them  and 
overcame  them,  so  that  in  time  they  dwelt  in  peace  in 
that  land. 

After  man  comes  into  the  Christ- Consciousness  he 
meets  giants  which  must  be  overcome,  and,  like  the  Chil- 
dren of  Israel,  he  must  go  to  war  and  subdue  them. 

Their  war  was  in  the  outer,  but  man^s,  of  which  these 
are  symbolical,  is  within  himself. 

What  are  the  giants  man  must  subdue  and  overcome? 
The  doubts  and  fears  which  are  still  in  his  mind,  even 
though  he  has  done  much  to  allay  them  while  passing 
through  the  wilderness,  which  is  the  confusion  and  false 
beliefs  of  the  carnal  mind. 

Man  will  become  free  from  the  Wheel  of  Carnality 
when  he,  like  Jesus  Christ,  has  brought  his  body  with  him 
into  the  higher  Spheres,  into  the  Vibration  of  Spirit. 
Then  he  can  labor  in  both  dimensions  and  be  of  great 
assistance  to  those  still  lost  in  the  Wilderness  of 
Carnality. 

When  the  man  and  woman  (the  positive  and  negative 
of  man)  were  cast  from  the  Garden  of  Eden,  they  saw 
that  the  Tree  of  Life  also  was  there ;  but  Divine  Wisdom 
caused  a  Flaming  Sword,  which  pointed  in  every  direc- 
tion, to  be  placed  before  the  Tree,  and  Divine  Wisdom 
explained, ' '  Lest  they  eat  of  that  Tree  and  live  forever. ' ' 

That  they  were  not  permitted  to  eat  of  the  Tree  of 
Life  after  they  had  passed  into  the  carnal  concept  re- 
veals the  Great  Truth  that  Infinite  Intelligence  knew 
man  would,  in  the  course  of  time,  return  to  this  tree ;  but 


Carnality  and  Its  Ways  97 

it  also  shows  that  man  will  be  in  a  different  state  of 
mind  from  that  which  he  was  in  when  he  discovered 
the  Tree  of  Life. 

He  then,  no  doubt,  was  filled  with  bigotry  and  self- 
satisfaction,  and  it  evidently  was  not  the  desire  of  the 
Loving  Father  that  man  live  forever  thus. 

Jesus  Christ  came  clothed  in  the  robe  of  gentleness  and 
humility,  conscious  of  His  Sonship  with  the  Father  and 
of  His  At-One-Ment  with  God.  This  is  the  condition 
which  man  will  attain  unto  before  he  can  understand- 
ingly  approach  the  Tree  of  Life. 

When  man  has  understanding  sufficiently  clear  and 
faith  strong  enough,  he  will  take  the  Flaming  Sword  in 
his  hand,  handle  it  and  find  that  it  is  no  barrier  to  the 
Tree  of  Life,  whose  fruit  he  will  eat.  Thus  living  the 
Divine  Life,  he  himself  becomes  the  Tree  of  Life. 

The  Flaming  Sword  is  the  Truth  which  is  so  crystal 
clear  that  the  carnal  man  sees  it  only  as  the  Flaming 
Sword. 

As  there  are  oranges  on  the  same  tree  in  all  stages  of 
growth  from  the  blossom  to  the  ripe  orange,  so  there  are 
men  of  all  stages  of  concept  in  the  wilderness  of  car- 
nality. As  the  man  high  upon  the  ladder  can  assist 
those  beneath  him,  so  the  awakened  and  advanced  Souls 
are  privileged  to  assist  those  who  have  a  lesser  degree 
of  Light. 

Man  endures  much  suffering  as  he  passes  over  the  path 
which  winds  through  carnality.  He  sees  his  fondest 
hopes  turn  to  dust,  his  brightest  idols  crumble  and  fall 
at  his  feet  until  he,  with  one  of  old,  exclaims,  ''All  is 
vanity  and  vexation  of  Spirit. '  * 

As  man  moves  along  in  carnality  he  has  joy  and  sor- 
row, success  and  disappointments;  yet  he  moves  on  and 
does  not  succumb  to  them,  because  that  the  Divine  Being 
which  ''God  created  in  His  Image  and  Likeness**  is  his 
Real  Self,  which  sustains  this  being  which  he  thinks  him- 
self to  be. 


98  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

The  Soul,  or  Real  Man,  is  never  touched  or  changed 
in  any  way  by  its  passing  through  the  carnal  experiences, 
and  although  man  has  lost  that  consciousness  which  knew, 
the  Real  Self  is  there  present  and  will  finally  stand  forth 
the  perfect  being  which  God  created  with  no  shadow, 
because  it,  being  the  true,  can  cast  no  shadow. 

The  Soul  in  Paradise  had  this  same  pure  Spirit-form, 
and  it  has  not  even  been  touched  by  the  earth's  condi- 
tions, but  is  transcendent  in  its  purity. 

A  change  has  come  into  the  mind  of  man  since  he  has 
eaten  of  the  fruit  of  the  Tree  of  Knowledge  which  is 
Good  and  Evil.  At  first  man  knew  only  Good ;  but  now, 
having  the  knowledge  of  Good  and  Evil,  he  can  learn  the 
deception  and  unreality  of  evil,  although  it  has  held 
him  under  its  influence  for  centuries,  making  him  think 
that  evil,  in  the  seeming,  is  as  eternal  as  good ;  but  when 
man  has  learned  the  great  lesson  and  knows  the  unreality 
of  evil  and  its  illusions,  he  becomes  the  conscious  Son  of 
God.  Then  he  can  no  more  be  deceived  by  its  alluring 
devices,  its  glittering  beauty  or  fascinating  music.  He 
lives  in  the  conscious  realization  of  that  which  is  and 
abides  in  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty  and  fears  not, 
because  he  knows  that  he,  as  a  son  of  God,  is  a  master 
over  the  claims  of  carnality. 

In  the  Adam-Sleep  the  dreams  are  varied  and  real. 
Disease  is  so  real  that  man  has  great  dread  and  fear  of 
it.  He  also  fears  death;  and,  as  the  carnal  man  views 
death,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  he  would  fear  it ; 
but  there  is  another  way  to  view  it,  and  when  seen  from 
the  right  angle  it  is  not  the  dread  monster  which  man  has 
thought  it  to  be. 

Jesus  Christ  plainly  taught  that  ''Death  is  the  last 
enemy  to  be  destroyed,''  but  it  has  been  such  a  monster 
and  of  such  gigantic  proportions  that  even  the  followers 
of  Jesus  Christ  could  not  see  that  He  taught  them  that 
they  might  be  enabled  to  overcome  it,  mistakenly  think- 
ing that  He  referred  to  His  overcoming  it  for  them. 


Carnality  and  Its  Ways  99 

As  long  as  man  is  bound  to  the  Wheel  of  Carnality  by 
the  Law  of  Cause  and  Effect,  which  brings  about  Birth 
and  Death,  this  experience  called  death  is  in  very  many 
cases  a  friend  instead  of  an  enemy.  For  instance,  when 
man  through  lack  of  understanding  has  permitted  his 
body  to  become  diseased  until  it  is  no  longer  habitable, 
death  is  indeed  a  friend  who  delivers  him  from  his  house 
of  corruption. 

The  Law  of  Infinite  Love  is  so  adjusted  that  man  has  a 
place  of  sojourn  while  he  is  free  from  his  fleshly  body, 
and  when  the  Law  of  Retributive  Justice  causes  him  to 
take  birth  again  Infinite  Love  brings  it  about  and  man 
is  again  upon  earth  in  a  new  garment  of  the  outer  sub- 
stance. 

He  takes  birth  among  the  people  and  in  the  environ- 
ments where  his  work  is  to  be  taken  up  as  the  result  of 
his  previous  life  upon  earth. 

The  carnal  mind  of  man  does  not  receive  this  fact 
cheerfully,  but  if  he  will  use  his  reason,  how  could  the 
carnal  mind  of  man  find  a  better  way  to  work  out  his 
problem?  It  is  well  for  man  to  recall  that  Jesus,  the 
Great  Teacher  and  Loving  Saviour  of  Humanity,  said, 
"Ye  shall  know  the  Truth  and  the  Truth  shall  make 
you  free. '  * 

Man  knows  not  the  Truth  until  he  has  passed  into  the 
Fourth  Dimension.  He  really  then  begins  his  work,  be- 
cause he  then  has  insight  and  is  guided  by  Wisdom  and 
Intelligence  through  understanding. 

He,  then,  has  reached  the  place  where  he  can  be  of 
service  to  his  fellow-man  and,  having  come  into  the 
Christ-Mind,  has  surrendered  sufficiently  his  carnal  mind 
to  be  willing  to  be  guided  by  the  Father. 

Healing  is  one  of  the  first  demands  made  upon  the 
awakened  and  enlightened  one,  and  with  joy  he  enters 
into  the  Sacred  Sanctuary  of  his  own  Soul,  there  to  be 
still  before  God,  that  the  Father  may  cause  the  manifes- 
tation of  Health  and  Harmony  to  take  place  when  the 


100  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

wall  of  partition  between  the  man^s  mind  and  God's  has 
broken  down,  so  that  the  Father  can  give  the  increase. 

It  is  not  the  Soul  or  Real  Man  that  is  healed  or  comes 
for  healing,  but  the  carnal  man's  concept  of  himself; 
and,  when  through  denials,  the  false  beliefs  are  snapped 
asunder,  God  giveth  the  increase,  just  as  when  man  ex- 
tends his  hand  and  raises  the  window  shade,  the  sun- 
light instantly  illumines  the  room.  The  light  was  there, 
only  the  shade,  which  is  man's  invention,  formed  a  con- 
dition which  shut  it  out ;  but  man  has  dominion  over  his 
own  inventions.  Therefore,  with  his  hand  he  can  raise 
the  shade  which  shuts  out  the  sunlight. 

In  a  damp,  dark  and  chilled  room  the  mildew  forms 
and  the  atmosphere  becomes  foul,  but  sunlight  will 
sweeten  and  change  it  into  a  thing  of  pleasure  and  of  joy. 

The  ways  of  carnality  are  through  the  mists  of  earth, 
and  they  are  birth,  growth,  old  age  and  death ;  and  sick- 
ness, pain  and  poverty  abound  along  its  ways. 

The  ways  are  varied.  Upon  some  the  sun  shines  clear, 
warm  and  bright  and  the  frosts  of  winter  seem  to  touch 
lightly,  and  the  path  is  smooth  and  passes  through  sunny 
fields  and  flowers  bedeck  the  way ;  and  wise  indeed  is  the 
man  thus  blessed  if  he  forgets  not  his  God  and  faileth 
not  to  love  and  be  kind  to  his  fellow-man. 

If  man  loves  God  he  will  be  kind  to  his  fellow-man; 
and  kind  thoughts,  deeds  and  acts  are  the  causes  which 
place  man  upon  the  bright  and  smooth  part  of  the  path ; 
and,  if  he  continues  loving  and  kind  while  in  the  pleasant 
environments,  it  will  be  well  with  him  in  the  next  change 
or  birth;  but,  should  he  forget  and  become  selfish,  un- 
kind and  filled  with  greed,  his  next  experience  will  be  on 
a  rough,  stony  and  perchance  barren  part  of  the  path. 

If  man  would  only  learn  that  he  is  the  one  who  shapes 
his  own  destiny  and  strive  to  understand  concerning  it, 
he  would  have  a  pleasant  abiding  place  here  and  in  the 
hereafter.  If  man  understood  this  he  would  here  and 
now  make  preparation  for  the  hereafter,  just  as  definitely 
as  he  would  for  a  trip  abroad. 


Carnality  and  Its  ,Ways ''/;''  >/lOi 

If  a  man  has  his  money  gathered  together  so  he  can 
conveniently  get  it,  and  clothes  to  wear  and  has  his  direc- 
tions as  to  his  way  when  he  reaches  the  strange  city,  or 
friends  to  meet  him  and  show  him  around  until  he  be- 
comes familiar  with  his  new  surroundings,  he  is  blest; 
he  has  no  anxiety  to  disturb  his  peace  of  mind.  There- 
fore, he  can  enjoy  his  voyage  and  not  fear  about  results, 
because  he  has  the  assurance  within  himself  that  all  will 
be  well  when  he  arrives.  A  man  thus  equipped  will  dwell 
long  in  that  great  city, — yes,  long  indeed;  and  when  he 
returns  to  his  carnal  state  again  it  will  be  to  be  a  blessing 
to  the  men  of  earth  who  have  not,  as  he,  learned  the  way. 
This  state  of  understanding  takes  birth  in  the  desire  to 
assist  humanity. 

When  man  reaches  the  ripening  cycle  he,  through  the 
experiences  which  he  has  passed,  becomes  softened;  the 
arrogance  of  the  selfish  will  has  been  consumed  by  the 
Love  which  has  come  to  abide  within  him. 

Man  will  not  become  free  from  the  carnal  experiences 
until  Love  has  been  enthroned  within  his  heart  and  his 
mind  attuned  with  it.  Love  is  the  key  which  unlocks  the 
Storehouse  of  God  and  enables  man  to  make  use  of  those 
things  therein  which  the  Father  hath  prepared  for  him, 
even  before  the  foundation  of  the  world  was  laid. 

We  find  as  we  analyze  carnality  and  its  ways  that  it 
is  a  period  of  constant  changing  and  that  the  natural 
man  has  not  a  permanent  abiding  place.  There  is  no 
permanent  satisfaction.  Man  gathers  a  beautiful  rose, 
and  even  as  he  holds  it  to  inhale  its  fragrance  it  falls  to 
pieces  at  his  feet,  and  he  learns  that  there  is  nothing 
stable  or  permanent  here. 

When  man  learns  this  he  turns,  like  a  tired  child,  for- 
ever from  his  illusions  and  seeks  for  a  place  of  perma- 
nence,— *'a  City  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God." 

When  man  has  grown  weary  of  following  the  will-o'- 
the-wisp  and  turns  to  Aum,  the  Ever-Present,  All- Wise 
and  Loving  God,  and  asks  for  guidance,  he  will  soon 
learn  to  be  still ;  for  "  the  Lord  is  his  shepherd,  he  shall 


i^  TfiE  Fl^SHLIGHTS  OF   TrUTH 

not  want ;  He  maketh  him  to  lie  down  in  green  pastures 
and  leadeth  him  beside  the  still  water"  and  in  the  shade 
of  the  evergreen  trees;  and  the  Tree  of  Life  is  there, 
* '  And  it  giveth  its  leaves  for  the  healing  of  the  nations. ' ' 
From  the  dream  of  the  Adam-Sleep  (carnality)  all 
will  awaken  and  some  time  reach  Home,  in  the  full  con- 
sciousness that  they  are  the  Sons  of  the  Living  God. 


CHAPTER  VII 

GOD'S  CREATION  AS  IT  IS. 

THERE  is  but  one  First  Cause,  and  that  is  God. 
God,  in  His  impersonal  aspect,  Aum,  is  every- 
where present.  His  "center  and  circumference*' 
including  all. 

God  is  Intelligence,  Love,  Power  and  Spirit.  When 
God  reposed  mind  was  not  expressed,  but  when  God 
desired,  Infinite  Intelligence  became  individualized  in 
the  myriad  forms,  called  man.  The  individualized  Di- 
vine Mind  in  man  is  the  Ego,  that  which  is  the  man. 
This  Ego  has  Soul,  which  is  Conscious  Life  clothed  with 
a  form ;  and  the  Spirit  of  God,  the  Breath  of  the  Infinite, 
breathes  man, — his  Mind,  Soul,  Spirit,  Form.  These 
compose  the  man  and  the  Ego,  the  Real  Self,  is  the  Real 
Master. 

When  the  man  in  carnality,  through  perception  and 
insight,  comes  into  the  understanding  of  his  true  being 
as  he  really  is  and  as  he  was  when  God  pronounced  him 
good, — *'Yes,  very  good," — and  announced  His  work  to 
be  finished,  man,  then,  will  be  still  and  know  that  God  is ! 

God 's  work  was  then  completed ;  He  rested ;  but  man, 
"God's  image  and  likeness,"  his  mind  reflecting  the 
God-mind,  commences  his  activities  and  they  will  not 
cease  until  he  also  can  announce,  "  It  is  finished. ' '  Then 
he  will  sit  down  at  the  "right  hand  of  the  Father"  and 
will  hear  the  glad  words  from  the  heart  of  the  Infinite, 
"Well  done." 

The  voice  of  the  Father  in  the  Ages  which  have  passed 
has  spoken  to  the  individual ;  to  the  man  who  has  scaled 

103 


104  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

this  height  of  attainment  and  will  in  the  Ages  to  come 
and  in  the  present  speak  to  those  who  are  perfected, 
''Well  done !  thou  good  and  faithful  son ;  enter  thou  into 
the  joy  of  thy  Lord/* 

The  Infinite  Universe  is  the  expression  of  Aum  and  is 
perfect  in  every  detail  and  unchangeable,  and  the  forms 
therein  are  composed  of  Spirit  Substance. 

Let  us  now  travel  back  to  the  time  before  the  dawn  of 
the  day  when  the  Perfect  Creation  took  individuality 
and  form  at  the  bidding  of  the  Infinite  and  stepped 
forth  from  the  Womb  of  the  Infinite.  Men  here  are  in 
the  presence  of  the  First  and  only  Cause, — Aum,  the 
Impersonal  God.  Creation  came  forth  perfect  and  com- 
plete, from  the  little  atom  hidden  deep  in  the  bowels  of 
the  earth  to  planets,  universes  and  systems  of  universes, — 
even  unto  man,  the  expressed  Image  of  God  and  His 
''Crowning  Glory.'' 

In  the  midst  of  this  Perfect  Creation  man,  the  ' '  Image 
and  Likeness  of  God,"  abides  and,  travel  as  far  as  man 
may  in  any  direction  he  chooses,  he  cannot  stray  beyond 
this  perfection. 

There  is  one  Intelligence,  the  Infinite,  which  governs 
all,  and  each  expression  moves  at  Its  bidding.  This  In- 
telligence recognizes  the  intelligence  in  each  individual 
expression  and  moves  upon  them,  that  they  each  and  all 
may  move  in  Rhythmic  Harmony.  The  individualized 
intelligence,  being  only  one  expression  of  the  Infinite 
Intelligence,  understands  not  the  allness  of  things, 
neither  the  All- wise  plan  of  the  Father;  therefore,  as 
long  as  it  is  receptive  it  is  moved  upon  by  Infinite  Intel- 
ligence which  is  above  and  sees  and  knows  all. 

Each  expression  is  directly  in  the  center  of  the  Heart 
of  God  and  knows  the  touch  of  His  Love  and  breathes 
intelligently  the  Holy  Breath,  and  here  we  hear  the 
words,  "Holy!  Holy!  Holy!  Lord  God  Almighty!" 
"Thou  art  from  everlasting  to  everlasting,  the  Ruler  of 
Thy  Creation."     So  great  is  Thy  Love  and  Care  that 


God's  Creation — ^As  It  Is  105 

nothing  great  or  small  takes  place  but  that  Thou  dost 
take  notice  thereof  and  knoweth  it  from  the  Heights  of 
Thy  Divine  Wisdom ! 

In  the  perfect  man  there  can  be  no  presumption,  be- 
cause he  always  knows  that  his  Father  is  greater  than 
he.  This  man  is  filled  with  Love  and  reverence,  and  de- 
votion is  unceasingly  warbling  from  heart  and  lip.  In 
that  state  man  is  ever  receptive  to  the  bidding  of  Infinite 
Intelligence  and,  therefore,  always  in  his  right  place  and 
doing  his  part  in  the  Great  Plan  of  Infinite  Love.  As 
man  stands  in  the  presence  of  the  First  Great  Cause, — 
the  Impersonal  God, — he  finds  but  one  Presence.  Let 
us  see  if  we  can  comprehend  what  this  Presence  is.  We 
find,  from  previous  explanations  of  God,  that  there  is 
Mind,  Life,  Love,  Harmony,  Power  and  Spirit  in  and 
from  Him. 

Spirit  expresses  in  two  ways, — through  the  Infinite 
Breath  which  breathes  all  creation,  and  through  Sub- 
stance which  is  the  Spirit-Essence.  This  Essence  is 
moulded  into  the  forms  of  creation  in  all  of  its  different 
shapes,  sizes  and  expressions. 

The  One  Intelligence  which  we  find  there,  expresses 
through  each  form  according  to  the  place  in  which  It 
placed  it. 

The  minerals  do  not  express  as  much  mind  as  the 
earth,  the  earth  not  as  much  as  the  animals,  and  they  not 
so  much  as  man. 

Reason  is  one  department  of  -the  mind,  observation 
another,  discernment,  discrimination  and  insight  are  oth- 
ers. When  these  are  all  in  equal  operation  the  Ego  is 
fully  expressed  through  man.  Then  the  man  is  Ego, 
Soul,  Breath, — and  Spirit-Substance  form.  The  Spirit- 
Breath  is  the  power  of  the  Infinite  flow  of  Life,  which 
binds  all  together  and  holds  man  a  perfect  expression  of 
the  Living  God. 

In  the  Invisible  Realm,  the  Home  of  the  forms  of  man 
not  clothed  upon  with  the  heavy  encasement  of  the  outer 
and  visible,  the  Intelligence  of  the  Infinite  guides  and 


106  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

governs  as  tenderly  and  caressingly  as  in  the  outer  one 
of  visible  manifestations. 

In  all  the  different  spheres  Infinite  Intelligence  gov- 
erns and  with  the  guiding  hand  of  Love  leads  and  sus- 
tains all. 

If  egotism  should  enter  man's  mind  and  he  begin  to 
feel  he  is  sufficient  unto  himself,  let  him  beware ;  for  ere 
long  he  will  come  to  the  place  where  he  will  learn  his 
inefficiency.  When  man  lets  self-righteousness  creep 
into  his  concept,  Infinite  Love  will  permit  him  to  be 
brought  low  until  he  again  desires  to  wear  the  robe  of 
humility. 

The  man  who  is  expressing  that  state  of  mind  that  was 
and  is  in  Jesus  Christ  is  ever  expressing  meekness  and 
humility,  and  in  patience  and  with  kindness  listens  to 
the  men  of  earth  who  have  not  that  state  of  mind,  yet 
desire  it. 

In  the  Perfect  Creation  as  it  is.  Harmony  is  expressed 
in  all  and  everywhere.  Harmony  is  the  first  Law  of 
Heaven,  and  when  we  are  in  that  Harmony  we  see  that 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  in  and  through  God's  Perfect 
Creation. 

When  man  goes  into  the  Sacred  Chamber  of  his  Being 
— ^his  heart — and  quietly  holds  his  mind  there,  he  will 
again  touch  the  Harmony  which  expresses  through  the 
Music  of  the  Spheres.  When  man  can  live  thus  attuned 
to  that  which  is,  he  will  prove  a  blessing  to  his  fellow- 
man. 

God  endued  man  at  creation  with  power  and  ability  to 
pass  through  any  experience  in  which  he  may  find  him- 
self ;  but  in  this  plunge  into  carnality  man  has  lost  con- 
sciousness of  it. 

When  man's  soul  is  fully  expressing  Conscious  Life, 
man  will  recall  all  knowledge  that  has  been  bestowed 
upon  him  and  lies  dormant  within  him.  Then  the  con- 
scious mind  of  man  will  become  merged  into  the  Soul,  the 
Divine  Ego.    The  Soul  is  Conscious  Life,  but  is  express- 


God's  Creation — As  It  Is  107 

ing  feebly  until  man  is  again  awake  to  the  Truth  of  his 
Being.  Then  he  is  a  conscious  upright  man,  as  in  reality 
he  has  ever  been  and  will  never  cease  to  be. 

The  Universe,  the  Perfect  Creation  of  God,  is  also 
formed  of  the  Spirit  Substance  which  is  the  God-Essence ; 
therefore,  it  is  unchangeable.  In  the  unchangeableness 
of  God  His  Perfect  Creation  abides. 

Thus  we  see  man,  the  highest  manifestation  of  God, 
abiding  in  a  Perfect  Universe,  the  Home  his  Heavenly 
Father  has  provided  for  him.  What  is  man's  duty  when 
he  perceives  this  to  be  true?  Appreciation  and  grati- 
tude. "When  man  is  illumined  concerning  this,  he  will 
bow  in  Love,  appreciation  and  reverence  for  his  Heav- 
enly Father  and  become  willing  to  be  led  by  Him.  Man 
will  then  remember  the  great  Truth  which  Jesus  Christ 
proclaimed,  speaking  from  His  illumined  concept,  ''I 
and  the  Father  are  one,  but  the  Father  is  greater 
than  I.'' 

God's  Perfect  Creation  is  sublime,  and  Love,  Peace 
and  Harmony  abide  there.  Not  even  one  discordant  note 
of  carnality  can  penetrate  it ;  yet  it  is  around  and  about 
man,  within  him  and  everywhere,  and  is  never  inter- 
fered with  in  any  way  whatsoever  by  carnality  and  its 
expressions.  Seemingly  they  intermingle;  yet  they  do 
not,  because  a  shadow  cannot  mingle  with  sunshine, 
though  it  expresses  in  it ;  but,  should  the  sun  disappear, 
there  would  be  no  shadow.  In  other  words,  if  there  were 
not  the  Real,  there  could  be  no  counterfeit. 

It  is  the  Eeal  which  we  are  discussing  in  this  chapter. 
God's  Perfect  Creation  is  God  made  manifest,  or  the  idea 
of  God  expressed. 

Every  flower,  blade  of  grass  or  grain  of  sand  has  the 
perfect  Spirit-Form  back  of  that  which  the  natural  man 
sees  about  him  in  the  natural  world.  There  could  not  be 
even  one  tree  in  the  forest,  one  flower  in  the  garden,  if 
there  were  not  the  perfect  tree  and  the  perfect  flower 
back  of  it.  The  woodman  cuts  down  the  tree,  cuts  it  into 
wood  and  burns  it ;  but  he  has  not  touched  the  tree  which 


108  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

is  God's  Creation.  Some  may  ask,  **What  did  the  wood- 
man cut  down?"  The  natural  expression  or  shadow  of 
the  Real  Tree.  The  Real  of  every  expression  in  the  uni- 
verse is  never  touched  or  disturbed  by  the  hand  or  mind 
of  man.  The  reaper  may  come  with  his  scythe  and  cut 
the  grass  close  to  the  ground,  but  after  a  time  each 
blade  will  express  again. 

God  desired,  and  the  Spiritual  Creation  came  into  ex- 
pression. Man's  mind,  reflecting  the  God-mind,  desired, 
and  the  finite  creation  came  into  view.  God  has  naught 
to  do  with  the  finite  or  natural  creation.  His  is  the  Per- 
fect. It  is  finished  and  He  pronounced  it  good  and  then 
rested  from  His  works.  So  man,  too,  will  rest  from  his 
labors  when  he  has  finished.  When  will  this  be  ?  When 
man  ' '  Knows  the  Truth. ' '  The  eye  which  is  single  is  the 
one  required  by  Infinite  Love.  As  man  nears  the  crest 
of  the  hill  where  the  single  eye  guides  him,  he  will  hear 
from  out  the  still  vastness  of  the  Infinite  the  welcome 
words,  ''Well  done,"  and  man  can  answer  that  Voice 
and  say,  *'it  is  finished."  That  final  time  will  arrive 
for  all  men  and  it,  no  doubt,  is  as  easy  to  accomplish  it 
at  present  as  in  the  ages  to  come. 

God  in  His  Infinite  Love  smiles,  and  the  earth  is  strewn 
with  flowers  with  many  colors  and  rare  fragrance.  He 
Loves!  and  the  sun's  rays  of  molten  gold  glow  and  all 
upon  the  earth  are  blest  and  refreshed.  He  Breathes! 
and  all  living  things  respond  to  the  Holy  Breath. 

Let  man  be  still  before  God  and  in  silent  meditation 
in  the  innermost  depths  of  his  being  commune  with  his 
Creator  from  Whom  he  has  never  been  separated,  and 
he  will  soon  feel  the  firmness  of  a  rock  beneath  him.  This 
Rock  is  Truth;  and,  if  man  will  stand  firmly,  the  Rock 
will  take  form  and  become  his  shield,  his  armor,  his  coun- 
cilor and  his  Teacher.  This  teacher  will  lead  him  unto 
the  Water  of  Life  and  teach  him  until  he  becomes  so 
peaceful  that  he  will  lie  down  in  the  green  fields  under 
the  o 'ershadowing  tree  and  contentedly  rest,  fanned  by 
the  soft  zephyrs  of  the  Love  of  Paradise  and  breathing 


God's  Creation — As  It  Is  109 

the  Holy  Breath.  He  then  is  in  one  accord  with  all  that 
is.  He  then  is  one  with  God  and  one  with  God^s  Perfect 
Creation. 

This  harmonious  rhythm,  this  joyous  bliss,  this  loving 
ecstasy,  this  tender  kindness,  this  gentle  humility,  this 
righteous  boldness  and  noble  courage  no  man  knoweth 
until  he  has  passed  from  the  Third  Degree  Dimension 
into  the  Fourth  Dimension  wherein  the  Christ  is  King. 

The  natural  man  in  his  natural  state  has  no  conception 
of  the  beauties  of  the  Real  Universe,  nor  of  the  sounds 
and  harmonious  rhythm  therein.  The  finest  and  most 
exquisite  sounds  of  earth  are  crude  in  comparison  to 
those  in  the  Perfect  Creation. 

God  endued  man  with  sovereignty  at  his  creation. 
When  man  realizes  this  he  will  dwell  in  peace,  and  each 
man  will  see  the  other  as  the  ' '  Crowning  Glory  of  God ' ' 
and,  with  a  salute  of  Royal  Comradeship,  they  will  greet 
each  other  and  smilingly  pass  on  their  way,  each  attend- 
ing to  his  duties. 

What  is  it  that  causes  confusion  to  express  amidst  the 
rhythmic  action  of  creation?  Man's  self-will.  Excite- 
ment in  the  mind  will  cause  fever  in  the  body.  Remem- 
ber that  the  same  law  governs  a  man  which  governs  the 
atoms.  In  God's  Perfect  Creation  there  is  no  sickness, 
because  confusion  cannot  enter  where  Harmony  reigns 
Supreme.  No  death  can  enter  there,  because  all  is  Eter- 
nal Life  and  the  Breath  of  the  Infinite  breathes  it.  There 
is  Oneness,  one  unbroken  chain  of  Life  bound  together 
with  the  golden  chord  of  Love  so  delicate,  so  strong,  that 
neither  time,  disease,  death  nor  poverty  can  snap  it  asun- 
der. 

This  Perfect  Creation  rests  as  securely  and  is  wrought 
as  tenderly  upon  the  Bosom  of  Infinite  Love  as  the  babe 
in  its  mother's  arms,  and  is  as  lovingly  caressed  by  the 
Father's  Love  as  the  babe  is  cooed  to  slumberland  by 
the  mother-love. 

Let  us  keep  deep,  yes,  deep  beneath  the  surface  of 
nature  and  the  natural  world  and  its  laws,  for  behind 


110  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

this  is  the  Perfect,  undimmed  by  the  passing  of  years, 
for  it  rests  just  beyond  the  dawn  of  time,  is  enveloped 
in  Eternity  and  is  Eternal. 

Time  paints  its  pictures  in  the  natural  world  and 
leaves  its  imprints;  but  it  cannot  even  touch  man,  the 
manifestation  of  God,  nor  God's  Perfect  Universe. 

This  world  has  seen  a  perfect  pattern,  and  that  was 
Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth.  He  came  to  show  man  his  pos- 
sibility as  well  as  his  destiny.  He  taught  how  man,  when 
he  had  arrived  at  the  dawn  after  his  long  sleep  in  the 
night  of  carnality,  will  awaken,  when  he  can  learn  the 
Master's  instructions. 

Let  the  ringing  of  a  bell,  or  some  unusual  sound,  occur 
in  a  house  where  many  are  sleeping,  and  there  may  be 
only  one  or  two  who  will  hear  it  and  come  forth  to  ascer- 
tain the  cause;  and  when  they  tell  the  others  about  it, 
these  others  are  surprised,  for  they  knew  nothing  of  it. 
If  they  who  did  not  hear  are  sufficiently  interested,  those 
who  did  hear  can  explain  it  to  them  and  they  may  not 
slumber  so  deeply  again.  But  the  others  who  will  not 
listen  will  return  to  their  sound  sleep  and  may  continue 
sleeping  until  the  cycle  has  passed,  the  wheel  turned  and 
the  bell  ring  again.    Blessed  is  he  who  hears ! 

''Awake  thou  that  sleepeth!"  Arise!  and  don  the 
morning  robe  and  come  forth  from  your  chamber  of  dark- 
ness and  greet  the  rising  sun  and  behold  the  glory  of 
day,  for  when  the  sun  reaches  the  zenith  many  men  will 
step  forth  Redeemed. 

It  is  God's  pleasure,  that  man  see  himself  as  God 
gave  him  forth  at  the  dawn  of  the  Perfect  Creation,  an 
upright  Being,  manifesting  good,  love,  beauty,  majesty 
and  power  and  clothed  upon  with  the  robe  of  Holiness, 
a  breastplate  of  righteousness  protecting,  a  mantle  of 
gentleness  and  kindness  clothing  him  about  and  the  smile 
of  compassion  for  his  fellow  man  lighting  up  his  face. 
Man  in  this  state  expresses  God  at  all  times  and  under  all 
circumstances  and  in  all  environments,  because  he  lives 
in   harmony   and   the   Perfect   Universe    is   expressed 


God's  Creation — As  It  Is  111 

around  and  about  him,  even  though,  to  the  natural  man, 
the  natural  only  seems  to  be  expressed.  He  has  the  Eye 
Single  and  sees  clearly,  while  the  natural  man  sees  ' '  As 
through  a  glass  darkly." 

Perfect  God !  and  His  Perfect  Creation,  which  includes 
man  and  the  Universe  and  God's  Perfect  Law,  operating 
in  and  through  All. 

Unceasing  and  Eternal  is  this  Perfect  Creation  and 
its  Laws  which  govern  it;  for,  behold,  God  sits  on  the 
Throne  in  His  Heavens  and  breathes  it.  "God  rests  in 
action;"  therefore,  man  rests  in  action,  when  he  has 
learned  the  Truth  and  knows  God  as  He  is  and  man  as 
he  is.  Then  man,  without  care  or  anxiety,  rests  serenely 
and  contentedly  upon  the  Infinite  Bosom,  as  the  water 
lily  reposes  upon  the  bosom  of  the  lake.  As  in  that  Bosom 
man  beholds  purity,  serenity  and  contentment,  we  see 
these  in  the  stillness  of  man.  When  man  realizes  this, 
he  will  express  the  beauties  of  God  as  unselfishly  as  the 
water  lilies  do. 

Peals  of  Holy  Laughter  and  songs  of  sweet  delight 
will  enrich  the  discoverer  of  the  wonderful  Mystic  Key. 

There  is  no  poverty  in  Heaven.  No  discord  can  enter 
there;  neither  care  nor  anxiety  can  there  find  an  abid- 
ing place.  No  discordant  note  can  strike  on  the  Instru- 
ment of  Heaven,  because  it  is  attuned  to  Harmony, 
sweet  and  deep. 

Harmony  is  the  home  of  God's  creation  as  it  is.  On 
the  streets  of  that  City  the  celestial  ones  tread.  They 
have  mastered  carnality's  illusions  and  can  never  more 
be  ensnarled. 

The  Light  of  God  lighteth  this  City  which  lieth  four 
square  upon  the  Mountain  of  our  God.  The  flowers 
which  grow  there  are  the  rarest,  sweetest  and  most  fair. 
Love  blesses  each  and  every  heart  and  the  Voice  of  the 
Holy  Ones  who  have  reached  this  final  abode  sing  sw^eetly, 
clearly  and  serenely  to  this  Father-Mother-God. 

There  is  no  condemnation  there;  neither  regret  nor 
discontent. 


112  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

It  is  our  desire  that  each  reader  of  this  book  examine 
himself  and  the  life  he  is  living  and  observe  what  the 
fruits  are.  There  is  only  one  kind  of  fruit  which  is  of 
any  value  to  man  in  his  finishing  process,  be  it  here,  now 
or  in  the  Ages  to  come,  and  that  is  the  good, — the  Real. 

Man  reaps  his  reward  here,  hereafter  and  in  the  Ages 
to  come,  from  every  good  thought,  word,  act  and  deed. 

When  man  has  become  conscious  of  God  and  His  Per- 
fect Creation,  it  follows  that  he  will  desire  to  assist  his 
brothers  to  know  God.  When  all  the  men  of  earth  know 
and  understand  God,  then  Isaiah's  prophecy  will  be 
fulfilled  and  the  **Lamb  and  lion  will  lie  down  together 
and  a  little  child  shall  lead  them. ' '  Love  will  then  reign 
Supreme. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

IN  THE  DEEP!  OR  HERE  AND  HEREAFTER. 

GO  as  deep  as  man  may,  still  there  are  deeper 
depths.  Go  as  high  as  he  will,  there  are  higher 
heights.  Expand  to  as  great  degree  as  man's 
mind  is  able  to  do,  and  yet  there  are  wider  circles  to  be 
traversed,  reaching  beyond  man's  vainest  imagination 
into  the  Hereafter;  and  then  he  has  only  reached  the 
foothills  of  Eternity. 

Of  the  vast  plains,  seas,  mountain  ranges,  deserts  and 
fertile  vales  which  lie  beyond  the  hills  which  fringe  the 
Hereafter,  no  one  fully  knows  until  he  has  crossed  and 
penetrated  their  vastness  and  sees  with  his  own  vision 
and  comprehends  with  his  own  mind. 

The  Christ-Consciousness,  expressing  in  the  sphere  be- 
yond the  chasm  called  death,  corresponds  to  that  state  of 
understanding  on  this  plane  which  is  the  Fourth  Dimen- 
sion. Man  with  the  Christ-Consciousness  can  assist  those 
who  have  not  that  Great  Light.  Many  are  ready  to  rec- 
ognize and  welcome  the  fact  that  the  men  of  earth  can 
Here  and  Hereafter  teach,  explain  and  help  those  who 
are  desirous  to  understand  about  the  Divine  Deeps ;  but 
many  there  are  who  do  not  think  it  possible  for  those  of 
the  same  dimension-concept,  who  have  passed  through 
the  door  called  death,  to  reveal  the  deep  Truths  to  their 
brothers  who  still  are  inhabiting  the  body  of  flesh.  If 
we  will  recall  the  definition  of  God  as  given  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapters  of  this  book,  the  reason  will  be  unable 
to  see  why  this  should  not  be. 

God  is  the  One  and  only  Presence  and  man  is  the  indi- 
vidualized expression  of  God. 

113 


114  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

God  is  the  only  Life,  and  man  is  the  individualized 
life  of  that  Life. 

God  is  the  only  Spirit  and  man  is  the  individualized 
Spirit  of  God. 

Then  we  have  man  as  Life,  Soul,  Spirit  and  Body,  with 
the  Breath  of  the  Infinite  breathing  him. 

God,  the  Infinite,  is  Omnipresent!  and  all  men  are 
individualized  expressions  of  God  and  have  their  being 
in  God. 

None,  therefore,  can  stray  beyond  His  Love  and  Care. 

God  governs  all  through  His  Law  which  forever  acts 
in  and  through  His  Creation, — as  unceasingly  and  ex- 
actingly  as  we  see  its  equivalent  in  the  ebb  and  flow  of 
the  tide.  As  this  law  of  the  tides  causes  the  action  of 
the  waters  in  the  great  oceans,  even  to  the  minutest  drop, 
and  through  this  action  brings  about  constant  purity, 
so  the  action  of  God*s  Eternal  Law,  ebbing  and  flowing 
in  and  through  creation,  even  unto  the  smallest  mani- 
festation, causes  purity  to  become  manifest. 

In  the  Here,  as  the  carnal  man  sees,  there  are  impuri- 
ties around  him.  He  may  pluck  a  beautiful  apple  and 
place  it  upon  the  shelf;  but  in  time  it  decays,  disinte- 
grates and  then  is  cast  into  the  earth,  where  it  comes  in 
touch  with  the  Law  of  Action,  which  brings  its  particles 
back  to  purity.  The  apple  grew  upon  the  tree,  was 
gathered  and  placed  in  a  safe  place,  and  when  it  reached 
the  stage  where  man  could  not  use  it  the  Law  of  Action 
carries  it  through  the  processes  which  will  bring  its  atoms 
into  purity  from  whence  it  started  upon  its  journey  of 
sense. 

So  God*s  Law  is  working  throughout  the  broad  and 
deep  expanse  of  God's  domain  and  is  causing  the  purity 
of  God  to  become  manifest  throughout  the  endless  realm 
of  creation,  until  the  Law  of  Purity  has  caused  the  Whole 
to  become  pure  again  in  its  expression  of  desire. 

If  the  Infinite  Intelligence  guides  the  atom  in  the 
depth  of  the  earth  to  fill  its  place  and  move  in  its  service 
for  the  good  of  the  whole,  how  could  man  believe  that 


In  the  Deep;  or,  Here  and  Hereafter       115 

Infinite  Intelligence  could  not  guide  the  Soul  of  man  in 
all  Spheres  and  cause  it  to  move  in  the  Law  of  Eternal 
Action  for  the  good  of  the  Whole,  bringing  about  purity 
and  the  Perfection  which  has  never  ceased  from  being 
itself? 

When  man  comes  to  the  outer  edge  of  the  Third 
Dimension  and  through  Spiritual  quickening  into  the 
Christ- Consciousness  crosses  over  the  dividing  line,  step- 
ping into  the  Fourth  Degree  concept  of  himself,  of  his 
possibilities,  of  his  God-given  powers  and  of  his  abiding 
place  in  the  ever-present  and  Eternal  God,  what  is  there 
to  hinder  him  from  acting  in  God^s  Eternal  Law  of 
Action  for  the  good  of  the  whole  ? 

Divine  Love  is  King  in  that  Realm,  and  none  can 
enter  it  which  causeth  or  maketh  discord. 

The  Eye  of  Illumination  sees  no  gulf,  no  chasm,  no 
dark  night;  for  it  perceives  the  Eternal  Light  of  God 
which  is  everywhere. 

In  the  different  stages  of  the  earth,  or  Adam-Sleep, 
which  is  caused  by  the  hypnotic  spell  that  is  cast  over 
man  by  the  Five  Senses,  man  sleeps  soundly  or  less 
sound,  according  to  the  ray  of  Light  which  expresses 
through  him.  This  Light  is  God,  because  there  is  only 
one  Light  and  that  Light  is  individualized  in  man. 
When  man  sleeps  soundly  there  is  little  Light  expressed. 
When  man  becomes  hypnotized  by  the  illusions  of  his 
sense-evidence,  he  may  pass  many  centuries  in  that  con- 
cept of  himself  and  the  world  as  he  erroneously  sees  it. 
Centuries,  even  ages,  do  not  benefit  him  in  the  least,  as 
when  one  is  asleep  he  is  not  enlightened  by  the  things 
which  transpire  around  him.  He  may  be  carried  from 
one  room  to  another,  but  he  gains  nothing. 

Jesus  Christ  said,  "Follow  thou  me,''  and,  *'Let  the 
dead  bury  their  dead."  Men  under  this  hypnotic  sleep 
are  as  dead  men  walking  about.  They  are  only  alive  to 
the  carnal  man  and  his  desires;  but  ''Dead"  to  the  Light 
and  Truth  of  God,  and  man's  true  Being.  In  this  state 
men  bury  their  dead,  marry  and  are  given  in  marriage. 


116  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

They  see  birth  and  death  take  place  around  them,  and, 
being  in  the  Adam  Sleep,  they  feel  their  powerlessness 
to  cope  with  these,  therefore  bow  in  resignation  to  what 
they  think  is  the  inevitable. 

Thus  we  see  man  dreams  his  time  away,  walking 
amidst  the  tombstones  of  the  past,  and  the  Ages  roll 
along.  There  are  many  in  the  bright  Spiritual  Light  of 
this  twentieth  century  who  are  sound  asleep ;  but  the 
voice  is  sounding  and  calling,  '* Awake!  Arise!  Come 
out  from  among  them ;  cast  off  the  grave  clothes. ' ' 

If  man  will  listen  to  the  teachings  of  the  men  who  have 
the  Christ- Consciousness,  he  will  soon  learn  the  Truth, 
which  will  enable  him  to  move  away  from  the  wheel  of 
life  which  rolls  in  and  through  carnality. 

As  God's  Law  of  unceasing  action  is  causing  the  on- 
ward movement  of  the  world  toward  purity,  it  also  is 
causing  the  onward  movement  of  man  toward  perfection. 

Jesus  Christ  said,  **I  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in 
Me.*'  He  is  the  pattern-man  which  He  portrayed  for 
Himself,  expressing  it  so  that,  like  Himself,  men  will 
some  time  out-picture  the  pattern  of  themselves  as  they 
ought  to  be  and  realize  that  they  live  in  the  Father- 
Mother-God,  becoming  conscious  that  they  are  in  the 
Eternity  of  that  which  is  and  that,  try  as  they  may,  they 
cannot  escape  from  the  Infinite  Presence. 

"When  man  awakens,  even  slightly,  from  the  deep  sleep 
of  the  Adam  dream  and  begins  to  perceive  the  plan  of 
the  Infinite,  he  will  soon  see  how  dim  his  light  is  and, 
if  he  desires  more  light,  he  will  soon  find  more  Light 
shining  upon  the  upward  Way. 

Deep  in  the  Soul  of  man  the  Eternal  Light  of  God 
burns  and  will  never  grow  dim,  even  though  he  may  lose 
the  consciousness  of  it  and  believe  he  is  walking  in  dark- 
ness.    This   is   where   an   enlightened   one   exclaimed, 


In  the  Deep;  or,  Here  and  Hereafter       117 

''Judge  not  by  appearance,  but  judge  by  righteous  judg- 
ment. ' ' 

In  the  carnal  sleep  the  senses  rule  through  the  carnal 
mind  and  hold  man  as  in  a  vise  as  tightly  as  man  will 
permit.  When  man  is  sound  asleep  he  is  under  the  dom- 
inance of  the  carnal  mind.  As  he  awakens  he  begins  to 
assert  himself,  and  he  finally  has  the  prerogative  by 
which  he  can  choose  whom  he  will  serve, — the  lower  pro- 
pensities of  his  carnal  nature  or  the  urge  of  the  Inner 
Force  of  the  Law  of  the  Eternal  Action  of  God,  which 
is  ever  leading  the  awakening  man  toward  the  expression 
of  purity  and  perfection.  "Choose  ye  this  day  whom 
ye  will  serve. ' ' 

The  world  expects  nothing  from  the  man  who  is  asleep, 
but  much  from  the  one  who  is  awake ;  and  the  awakened 
one  is  required  by  the  Intelligence  of  God  to  use  his 
talents,  be  they  one,  five  or  ten. 

Down  in  the  depth  of  man's  being,  where  he  feels  the 
urge  of  the  Soul,  is  the  quiet  Chamber  of  his  Being, — the 
Heart, — where  the  carnal  nature  of  man  is  touched  by 
the  Love  and  Law  of  the  Infinite. 

Out  on  the  bosom  of  the  deep  there  are  billows  which 
never  are  seen  by  man,  and  in  the  heart  of  the  ocean 
there  are  secrets  which  man  has  not  yet  learned.  So 
within  man's  own  bosom.  On  the  outer  carnal  vesture 
there  are  billows  which  man  does  not  understand;  in 
the  deeps  of  his  Being  there  are  many  secrets  for  him 
to  learn. 

Man,  in  his  carnal  concept  of  himself  and  all  he  sees 
about  him,  thinks  that  his  body  is  he,  and  diligently 
labors  day  by  day  to  provide  the  things  of  earth  to 
clothe,  feed  and  house  his  body.  His  appetites,  passions, 
hates,  loves  and  desires  are  real  to  him  and  he  is  servant 
to  them.  Death,  disease,  pain,  sorrow,  inharmony,  pov- 
erty and  old  age  are  as  real  to  him  as  the  sun's  light  and 
warmth. 


118  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

Sometimes,  when  the  enlightened  man  sees  his  fellow- 
man  encased  in  this  network  of  the  carnal  mind,  he  must 
have  faith  and  courage  before  he  can  endeavor  to  tell 
him  the  Truth  of  his  Being,  because  he  remembers  that 
the  Great  Master  said,  ''Cast  not  your  pearls  before 
swine,''  for  they  may  (and  as  the  enlightened  one  knows, 
they  frequently  do)  turn  and  rend  you. 

There  truly  is  nothing  in  earth  that  can  repay  a 
devotee  of  Truth  for  the  wounds  with  which  he  is  rent  by 
his  fellow-men  whom  he  endeavors  to  assist  when  they 
first  begin  to  awaken;  but  the  Illumined  One  looks  not 
to  carnality  for  his  reward.  Some  may  be  led  to  place  a 
large  price  upon  their  efforts  to  teach  or  heal  their  broth- 
ers, for  a  sort  of  protection.  This  may  assist  a  little, 
but  there  is  only  one  protection  and  that  is  Divine  Love 
expressed  in  the  Arm  of  Omnipotent  God,  the  Loving, 
Tender  Father-Mother. 

When  man  is  enlightened  unto  the  Christ-Conscious- 
ness and  the  influx  of  the  Divine  Power  of  God  flows 
into  his  being  until  his  body  is  vibrant  with  the  Being 
which  is  and  he  is  conscious  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven 
within,  around  and  about  him,  he  then  heeds  not  the 
harsh  word,  the  shrill  voice  or  the  unwelcome  look,  and 
he  reveals  the  Truth  to  his  brother,  because  he  knows 
that  if  he  will  hear  only  a  few  of  Truth 's  words,  spoken 
with  the  Realization  of  their  Truth  and  Strength,  his 
brother  will  in  time  smile  and  rejoice  in  the  Light  which 
has  been  brought  to  him. 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  Light  of  the  World.  He  is  the 
pattern-man.  When  man  awakens  to  the  Light  in  Jesus' 
message,  man  will  endeavor  to  bring  forth  the  pattern  in 
himself.  At  first  he  may  express  it  feebly,  but  as  his 
endeavors  are  more  intelligently  carried  forth  his  ex- 
pression will  become  more  perfect,  until  he  comes  into 
the  full  consciousness  of  the  Christ-Mind.  He  then  will 
express  the  pattern-man  in  his  body  until  it  becomes  the 
Glorified  Body  of  the  Christ. 


In  the  Deep;  or,  Here  and  Hereafter       119 

The  mind  rules  the  man.  Man's  body  is  the  outer  ex- 
pression and  expresses  as  the  mind  is.  If  it  is  the  carnal 
mind  which  is  the  man's  concept  of  himself,  he  will 
express  the  beliefs  of  carnality.  Man's  beliefs  govern 
him  in  his  carnal  dream  and  out-picture,  accordingly,  on 
his  body. 

Jesus  Christ  had  conscious  dominion  over  His  body 
and  over  the  bodies  of  those  who  came  to  Him  for  succor. 
He  raised  His  body  from  the  tomb  of  death.  **  Follow 
me!"  was  his  call.  He  was  living  in  the  Christ- 
Consciousness. 

The  carnal  man,  he  who  is  asleep  in  the  Adam-Dream 
under  the  hypnotic  spell  of  carnality,  knows  not  of  the 
Christ-Mind  and  its  expression  in  the  Glorified  Body. 
Therefore,  he  is  subject  to  time  and  its  limitation. 

In  the  Deep,  or  Here  and  Hereafter,  there  is  much  to 
learn  for  the  man  who  is  not  entirely  awakened.  He 
who  is  living  in  the  carnal  mind,  thoughts  and  beliefs 
concerning  the  Here  and  Hereafter,  may  make  many 
efforts  to  ascertain  knowledge  about  this  Deep. 

In  the  Deep  there  is  no  Here  and  Hereafter.  There  is 
only  the  Here  and  Now.  What  is  the  Deep  ?  Illumina- 
tion. 

In  the  Illumined  Mind  there  is  the  perception  of  the 
Truth,  the  flashlight  of  Infinite  Intelligence,  which  per- 
ceives the  Oneness  of  Life,  the  unreality  of  separation 
and  the  illusion  of  time.  This  reveals  the  boundlessness 
of  the  Infinite  and  of  the  Here  and  Now,  and  puts  forever 
in  the  Soul  awe  of  that  which  is, — God,  the  Father- 
Mother,  the  Eternal. 

God  and  His  perfection  is  that  which  is.  It  can  never 
change  or  pass  from  time  to  after-time,  but  IS!  and 
remains  inseparable. 

*'Know  the  Truth  and  the  Truth  shall  make  you  free" 
is  the  one  thing  which  our  Elder  Brother  found  was  nec- 
essary for  those  who  dwell  in  carnality. 

If  Here  is  the  only  place  and  Now  is  the  only  time, 
what  are  we  to  learn  ? 


120  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

The  carnal  man  will  ask  many  questions,  and  perhaps 
seek  long  before  he  finds  the  Light  which  will  enlighten 
him  sufficiently  for  him  to  know  the  Truth  and  find  his 
way  out  from  the  Forest  of  Illusions. 

The  Forest,  at  times  and  in  places,  is  beautiful  and 
the  light  and  warmth  of  the  natural  sun  so  invigorating 
to  man's  body  and  alluring  to  his  mind  that  he  will  settle 
in  placid  contentment,  surrounded  with  the  giant  trees  of 
the  forest,  gathering  the  fruits,  nuts  and  grains,  or 
plucking  the  flowers  which  beautify  his  environments. 
This  is  the  Here  of  the  carnal  man.  He  lives  here  in 
the  consciousness  of  time,  believing  that  days  form  weeks, 
weeks  months,  and  months  years,  and  that  at  three  score 
years  and  ten  man  has  run  his  course,  so  that  his  body 
must  return  to  the  dust  from  whence  it  came  '^and  his 
Soul  to  God  who  gave  it.**  The  carnal  man  does  not 
understand  from  whence  he  came  nor  whither  he  goeth 
nor  what  the  destiny  which  lieth  before  him. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  Jesus  Christ,  seeing  as  He  so 
clearly  did  from  His  Christ-mind,  said,  "Know  the 
Truth  and  the  Truth  shall  make  you  free"?  No!  It  is 
no  wonder  He  told  the  people  this,  because  it  is  the  only 
way  man  will  find  final  deliverance. 

Man  through  deep  faith  in  God  and  devotion  to  the 
Divine  "Will  and  a  desire  to  reach  the  Heavenly  Home 
and  with  a  firm  belief  in  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Son  of  God, 
passes  at  death  into  a  harmonious  state  and  a  place  where 
he  meets  loved  ones  who  have  gone  before  him.  He  will 
find  them  in  the  place  where  their  faith,  devotion  and 
Love  have  placed  them. 

According  to  the  intensity  of  man's  desires,  the 
strength  of  his  faith  and  the  depth  of  his  devotion  will 
the  length  of  his  sojourn  be  established.  It  is  not  an 
eternal  state,  but  transitory.  Jesus,  the  One  who  '*knew 
the  Truth,"  said,  ''Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away, 
but  My  words  shall  not." 

What  happens  to  the  man  when  his  time  in  this  Har- 
monious Abode  called  Heaven  has  expired  ?    He  returns 


In  the  Deep;  or,  Here  and  Hereafter       121 

to  take  up  the  thread  of  his  life  again  and  to  work  at 
the  Loom  of  Life  until  the  fabric  is  completed  and  made 
perfect.  How  long  a  time  this  will  require  **no  man 
knoweth,  not  even  the  Son,  but  the  Father."  It  is  not 
for  man  to  question  concerning  the  length  of  time, 
neither  the  why  nor  the  how,  except  as  he  seeks  to  "know 
the  Truth.'' 

Man  may  pass  years  in  asking  about  the  why  and  the 
how,  and  if  he  continues  to  seek  his  solution  in  the  intel- 
lectual understanding  of  man  contemplating  the  phe- 
nomenon of  the  Here  and  the  Hereafter,  he  will  remain 
in  the  Forest  of  Illusion,  because  the  carnal  man's  intel- 
lect knoweth  not  nor  can  know  the  way  nor  the  phe- 
nomenon of  the  Hereafter.  It,  therefore,  can  be  clearly 
seen  that  Jesus  Christ  knew  whereof  He  spake  when  He 
told  them  to  * '  Know  the  Truth  and  the  Truth  shall  make 
them  free."  Freedom,  then,  is  the  result  of  knowing, 
and  knowledge  is  a  quality  of  the  mind.  Jesus,  seeing 
clearly  through  the  Christ-Mind  within  Him  and  not 
"through  a  glass  darkly,"  knew  the  Light  which  will 
show  man  where  to  begin  his  earnest  work  within  Him- 
self, when  he  desires  to  see  his  fabric  complete,  or  where 
to  learn  that  he  may  reach  his  graduation  and  receive  his 
diploma.  What  is  the  diploma  which  man  will  receive? 
His  Illumination,  full  and  complete.  When  this  takes 
place  man  will  see  himself  as  God  has  ever  seen  him, — 
Perfect.  His  mind,  cleared  of  the  illusions  of  the  carnal 
nature,  is  transparent,  only  the  Christ-mind  expressing 
in  him,  his  body  only  expressing  the  pure  Spirit-Sub- 
stance, his  Soul,  his  Conscious  Life,  vibrating  through 
every  atom  of  his  being.  Man,  then,  is  Redeemed  and 
knows  his  Freedom. 

Some  may  say,  "How  about  faith,  devotion  and  Love, 
and  surrendering  the  old  self?" 

When  man  "knows  the  Truth"  these  follow  as  nat- 
urally into  and  from  him  as  water,  following  its  natural 
law,  seeks  its  level. 

If  man  knows  God,  can  he  refrain  from  devotion  ?    If 


122  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

he  knows  God,  can  he  be  content  except  he  express  grati- 
tude to  his  Creator?  If  he  have  an  abounding  Faith  in 
"Him  whom  to  know  aright  is  Life  Eternal,"  can  he 
keep  from  asking  with  a  trusting  child-heart  for  that 
which  he  desires  from  this  Omnipresent  One, — Our 
Heavenly  Father  ? 

Man's  emotions  may  be  moved  upon  either  through 
fear  of  the  wrath  of  God  or  through  love  of  a  reward  in 
Heaven.  This  reward  will  be  accordingly,  and  when  he 
has  reaped  his  merit  his  condition  changes. 

The  natural  man  lives  in  the  Law  of  Cause  and  Effect. 

As  we  have  stated  before,  the  mind  controls  man,  and 
as  long  as  man  lives  in  the  carnal  mind  concept  of  him- 
self and  the  world  and  the  people  he  sees  about  him,  he 
reaps  and  sows  in  carnality's  ways. 

Someone,  perhaps,  will  recall  the  promise  of  our  Elder 
Brother  to  the  believer.  Well,  true  it  is,  that  no  one 
believes  very  firmly  in  anything  which  he  does  not  under- 
stand. Believing  is  the  next  quality  to  knowing.  Man 
believes  there  is  something  in  the  Message  of  the  Christ 
worth  searching  for,  and  he  seeks  until  he  knows. 

In  the  believing  state  the  devotee  would  sell  all  that  he 
has  and  buy  the  one  gem,  Illumination. 

There  are  two  degrees  of  Illumination,  the  Intellectual 
and  the  Spiritual.  A  man  may  be  intellectually  illum- 
ined ;  he  may  be  able  to  explain  the  deep  things  of  God, 
describe  Jesus  Christ  and  His  ministry  clearly,  and  his 
language  glow  with  eloquence,  yet  never  have  felt  the 
softening  touch  of  Infinite  Love,  which  will  set  his  heart 
aglow  with  kindness,  tenderness  and  compassion  for  his 
fellow-man. 

So  man's  heart  can  become  filled  with  the  Love  and 
Strength  of  God,  but,  not  having  the  understanding 
which  will  enable  him  to  live  constantly  in  that  state, 
the  Tempter  may  sometimes  express  through  his  lips  or 
deeds. 

Full  Illumination  is  when  the  intellect  and  the  heart 
are  joined  together  and  enlightened  by  the  Christ,  which 


In  the  Deep;  or,  Here  and  Hereafter       123 

is  the  Impersonal  Son  of  God.  When  this  mind  is  estab- 
lished in  the  individual,  it  is  the  Christ- Consciousness. 
Then  the  Illumined  man  is  inclined  to  express  the  same 
Love,  tenderness  and  compassion  for  his  fellow-man 
which  Jesus  expressed.  Some  may  not  accept  this,  but 
how  could  it  be  different  if  it  is  the  same  mind  that  was 
and  is  in  Christ  Jesus?  When  man  has  followed  Jesus' 
Teachings  until  he  has  brought  himself  unto  the  place 
where  his  mind  and  body  can  receive  this  great  inflow 
of  Light  from  the  Father  through  the  Baptism  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  he  is,  then,  following  the  requirements  and 
the  promise  is,  ''He  shall  be  free."  What  shall  man  be 
free  from?  Carnality.  What  then  happens?  ''His 
mind  is  filled  with  peace,  that  is  stayed  upon  God.*' 
Man  then  steps  through  understanding  aside  from  the 
Wheel  of  Birth  and  Death.  He  will  become  able  to  mas- 
ter death  through  understanding.  We  read  in  Holy 
Writ,  "The  last  enemy  to  be  overcome  is  death."  Then 
we  see  that  man  in  his  ongoings  will  eventually  master 
death.  How?  Through  "knowing  the  Truth"  and  by 
living  as  unto  that  knowing.    There  is  no  other  way. 

When  man  through  understanding  has  mastered  death, 
it  being  the  last  enemy  upon  carnality's  path,  he  shows 
that  he  has  met  and  mastered  all  the  evil  propensities  of 
the  carnal  man.  He  will  then  understand  the  deceitful- 
ness,  creation  and  origin  of  the  carnal  mind. 

When  man  through  insight  understands  that  the  car- 
nal mind  of  man  and  its  world  has  no  real  creator,  has 
no  real  foundation  and  no  real  power,  but  only  that 
which  man  permits  it  to  express,  he  will  arise  in  con- 
sciousness of  the  Truth  of  his  Being  and  command  it  to 
retire  into  its  nativity,  which  is  nothing.  When  man 
has  this  understanding  he  is  master  and  what  Infinite 
Intelligence  commanded  him  to  be  at  the  beginning. 

When  man  understands  himself  as  God  knows  him, 
and  God  as  He  IS,  man  has  traveled  far  upon  the  Path 
"which  leadeth  unto  the  City  of  God." 


124  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

The  City  lieth  **Four  Square  upon  Mount  Zion.*' 
This  City  is  the  abode  of  the  Christ-Illumined  man,  and, 
as  we  have  before  stated,  is  the  symbol  of  the  Christ- 
illumined  individual.  He  here  has  reached  the  con- 
sciousness of  his  True  Being  as  the  Father,  Aum,  cre- 
ated him.  He  has  through  insight  chiseled  and  polished 
his  mind  and  understanding  until  he  is  a  diamond  crys- 
tal clear  and  expressing  purity  so  perfectly  that  the 
world  recognizes  him  as  not  of  the  earth  *s  concept. 

Let  us  turn  to  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  and  we 
find  there  that  God  created  man  in  His  image  and  like- 
ness and  endued  him  with  dominion.  When  man  under- 
stands this  how  will  he  act?  Jesus  said,  *'By  their 
fruits  shall  ye  know  them.'*  What  are  the  fruits  re- 
ferred to?  The  signs  following  and  the  life  lived  and 
the  works  which  Jesus  of  Nazareth  performed. 

"Greater  works  than  these  shall  follow  them  that 
believe. ' ' 

*'Ye  shall  heal  the  sick,  cast  out  devils,  bind  up  the 
broken-hearted  and  preach  deliverance  to  those  in  prison, 
that  the  captive  may  be  set  free." 

It  is  the  esoteric  part  of  Freedom  which  is  referred 
to  here  and  which,  if  understood,  will  cause  the  chains 
to  fall  from  man's  limbs  and  his  feet  to  be  removed 
from  the  stocks  and  the  shackles  from  his  mind,  so  that 
he  can  arise,  bind  on  his  sandals,  draw  about  him  his 
mantle  and  approach  the  prison  gate,  which  then  will 
open  that  he  may  pass  out. 

Man!  Awake  to  the  esoteric  side  of  our  Master's 
message  and  apply  it  to  yourself,  because  it  is  written 
or  handed  down  from  SBons,  * '  There  are  none  of  greater 
value  than  thou."  *'Thou  art  the  beloved;  the  one 
altogether  lovely;  the  fairest  among  ten  thousand." 
"Thou  art  the  rare  gem  in  the  diadem, — yea,  thou  art 
the  diadem!"  for,  behold,  "Thou  art  the  fairest  and 
altogether  lovely." 

With  the  diadem  of  God's  power,  Love  and  Glory 
upon  him,  man  can,  through  the  Christ  Light  and  un- 


In  the  Deep;  or,  Here  and  Hereafter       125 

derstanding  within  him,  reach  forth  his  hand  and  raise 
his  brothers,  and  through  his  prayer  see  all  manner  of 
diseases  healed  and  by  the  spoken  word  cast  out  the 
evil  spirits  which  bind  mankind.  He  performs  these 
works  in  the  name  of  the  Master,  Jesus  Christ. 

Oh,  that  man  would  learn  these  deep  Truths  and  live 
them!  It  is  not  sufficient  to  study  the  letter  or  the 
historical  part  only  of  the  career  of  the  Holy  Man, 
Jesus,  or  to  memorize  His  saying.  Unbelievers  can  do 
this.  What,  then,  is  required?  Get  behind  the  letter 
and  the  historical  and  learn  their  Spiritual  significance 
of  the  Life  and  works  of  Christ.  Then  through  devo- 
tion become  conscious  of  the  one  and  only  Spirit  which 
is  God  everywhere  present,  and  that  man  is  an  individ- 
ualized expression  of  the  One  Spirit,  forever  at-one  with 
the  Father-Mother-God. 

What  is  the  Here  and  Hereafter  ?  NOW.  When  man 
has  crossed  over  the  line  which  lies  between  the  carnal 
concept  and  the  Divine,  he  has  then  come  into  the 
Christ-Mind,  which  is  illumination.  When  an  illumined 
mind  reflects  the  Infinite  or  Divine  Mind,  which  knows 
no  boundaries  or  time,  neither  divisions,  the  illumined 
one  sees  only  the  Here  and  Now.  To  be  able  to  thus 
see  and  understand,  man  must  dive  deep,  because  it  is 
in  the  depth  that  the  rarest  gems  are  found. 

The  full  knowledge  of  the  Truth  is  the  one  thing 
worth  while !  It  is  of  lasting  value.  It  remains  within 
the  man,  the  Real  Self,  in  all  the  different  experiences 
he  encounters.  He  may  seemingly  forget,  but  it  is  not 
thus  destroyed.  The  Truth  is  so  vital  it  will  invigorate 
the  mind,  both  conscious  and  subconscious.  Jesus  Christ 
said,  **I  am  the  Light,  the  Truth  and  the  Way.*'  When 
man  becomes  so  alive  with  the  fire  of  the  Truth,  his 
body  and  mind  so  quickened  that  he  expresses  Truth, 
not  only  through  the  mind  in  thoughts,  but  through  his 
body  in  healing,  man  can  become  so  imbued  with  the 
Spirit  of  Truth  and  his  body  so  vibrant  therewith  that 


126  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

death  will  remain  a  stranger  to  him.  This  is  man*s 
work  for  the  Here  and  it  will  bring  forth  good  fruit  in 
the  Hereafter. 

Let  us  look  for  a  short  time  into  the  Here  and  the 
Hereafter.  When  man  first  becomes  acquainted  with 
himself  and  begins  to  awaken  sufficiently  to  wonder 
from  whence  he  came  and  whither  he  will  go  when  he 
bids  adieu  to  his  present  surroundings,  he  will  question 
much.  Man  under  the  carnal  dream,  even  when  par- 
tially awakened,  recognizes  only  that  short  span  of 
man's  path  which  is  traveled  between  the  cradle  and  the 
grave.  Of  all  beings  most  miserable  is  man  with  his 
reasoning  faculties  alert  who  believes  not  in  immortality. 
*'0,  death,  where  is  thy  sting? 
0,  grave,  where  is  thy  victory?'* 

is  asked  by  the  one  that  is  seeking  to  find  the  Truth. 
There  is  no  sting  in  death  to  the  one  who  knows  the 
Truth,  even  partially,  because  he  has  learned  that  death 
can  only  claim  the  body  and  that  the  body  is  not  the  man 
but  his  garment. 

Before  man  reaches  full  illumination  he  may,  through 
race  beliefs,  feel  the  current  so  strong  that  he  will  lose 
his  body,  but  at  this  stage  he,  perhaps,  can  retain  con- 
sciousness as  he  passes  through  the  portal  into  the  other 
realm.  If  so,  he  has  almost  become  master  over  the  last 
enemy  and,  when  he  passes  that  way  again,  he  will  be  the 
victor.  Then  he  can  hear  the  glad  words,  ''Well  done! 
enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord."  "Thy  Lord''  of 
the  individual  is  the  Ego,  the  Eeal  Self  of  each.  The 
Ego  is  the  Divine  Man,  which  is  God  individualized. 
This  is  the  Man,  and  when  man  becomes  aware  of  this 
Truth  of  his  being,  this  gives  him  mastership  over  his 
whole  being. 

"The  Lord  is  my  shepherd,''  the  Psalmist  exclaimed 
in  an  exalted  moment.  This  was  a  recognition  of  the 
Lord  of  the  Universe,  The  Infinite  which  has  become  man- 
ifest through  the  individual.  Jesus  Christs  is  Lord,  be- 
cause He  has  long  ago  become  conscious  of  His  Lordship. 


In  the  Deep;  or,  Here  and  Hereafter       127 

All  men  are  heirs,  joint  heirs  with  Him,  but  they  are  not 
benefited  by  this  kinship  until  they  learn,  then  believe, 
then  become  conscious  of  it.  Then  the  Light  of  God 
floods  their  Mind,  Soul  and  Body ;  then  they  know  that 
they  are  Sons  of  the  Most  High  God  and  heirs  to  the 
throne  which  is  Harmony,  Love  and  Power.  Then  man 
at  this  stage  has  the  illumination  which  is  required  before 
he  is  a  master.  Man  may  claim  mastership,  but  when  he 
attains  it  he  no  longer  claims  but  expresses  it. 

If  man  has  gleaned  much  Light  here,  enough  so  that 
he  has  touched  the  Christ-Mind,  he  will  remain  a  master 
on  the  other  side  of  the  portal  and,  should  he  return  to 
earth,  he  will  be  a  Light  to  guide  and  teach  the  men  of 
earth  concerning  the  things  of  the  Deep. 

Man  in  the  Adam-Sleep  lives  on  the  surface  of  Life  and 
the  earth.  He  studies  the  Law  of  Nature  and  of  Man. 
He  also  strives  to  understand  his  physical  body,  and  be- 
lieves it  is  he.  He  studies  the  stars  and  their  science, 
and  by  joining  these  together  has  a  strong  fabric  which 
man  calls  life. 

Man  can  live  in  the  illumination  of  the  outer  concept 
and  pass  from  infancy  to  old  age, — yea,  even  to  three 
score  years  and  ten, — and  not  even  learn  that  there  is  a 
deeper  meaning  to  life.  He,  therefore,  is  the  Prodigal 
Son  and  is  living  in  a  far  country,  be  he  king  or  pauper, 
and  continues  feeding  upon  the  husks  which  the  swine 
enjoy,  until  he  awakens,  learns  the  Truth  and  becomes 
illumined  concerning  God,  man  and  the  Universe. 

If  man  learns  the  Truth  concerning  himself,  that  he  is 
a  manifestation  of  the  Living  God,  this  is  good,  but  not 
sufficient ;  because  our  Elder  Brother,  the  fully  Illumined 
One,  said,  ' '  I  and  my  Father  are  one,  but  my  Father  is 
greater  than  I. "  He  also  said,  * '  The  Father  who  dwelL 
eth  within  me.  He  doeth  the  works. ' '  This  is  one  thread 
of  Illumination;  the  other  thread  is  knowing  about  God's 
Perfect  Universe. 

The  universe  is  the  place  of  man's  habitation  and  God 
caused  it  to  become  manifest  for  man.     It  matters  not 


128  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

what  state  of  consciousness  man  is  expressing,  there  is  a 
place  prepared  by  Infinite  Intelligence  and  Love  for  him. 

Man  cannot  stray  so  far  that  he  can  escape  from  the 
Father's  Love  and  Care.  The  Psalmist  said,  "Though  I 
make  my  bed  in  Hell,  Thou  art  there";  and  true  it  is, 
because  God  is  everywhere. 

When  man  is  fully  illumined  he  is  cognizant  of  God 
and  the  Universe  as  they  are,  and  that  he,  the  perfect 
manifestation  of  God,  is  required  to  give  an  account  of 
the  deeds  done  in  his  body. 

When  man  is  living  in  the  concept  where  he  must  give 
an  account  of  the  deeds  done  in  his  body,  he  is  not  Illum- 
ined, but  is  living  in  the  Law  of  Cause  and  Effect. 

As  long  as  man  knows  the  Truth  only  dimly  or  in  part, 
he  is  bound  with'  chains  strong  and  firm  in  the  Law  of 
Cause  and  Effect,  and  that  law  is  inexorable.  There  is 
only  one  thing  which  will  entirely  and  forever  free  man 
from  it,  and  that  is  the  full  knowledge  of  the  Truth. 

Although  man  may  pray  and  Infinite  Love's  grace  be 
spread  over  him,  and  he  rest  by  the  side  of  the  Still 
Water  of  Life  in  contentment  and  peace,  there  will  come 
a  time  when  he  must  take  up  the  thread  of  life  again 
and  his  hands  handle  the  shuttle  until  he,  alone,  has 
woven  the  web  unto  completeness.  Loved  ones  can  pray 
for  him,  friends  smile  with  satisfaction  and  teachers  give 
words  of  cheer,  but  the  fact  remains  that  the  individual 
must  work  at  the  Loom  of  Life  until  he  learns  its  mean- 
ing. Through  understanding  he  steps  aside  from  his 
labors  into  the  Illumination  where  he  perceives  God  has 
done  it  all.  God's  creation  is  complete  and  finished,  and 
He  pronounced  it  Good. 

When  man  has  the  full  Light  he  will  sit  down  on  the 
right  hand  of  the  Father  and  live  in  Bliss.  Man  in  the 
illumined  state  will  revel  in  ecstasy, — the  very  joy  of 
living.  Jesus  Christ  remembered  the  Bliss  which  He  ex- 
perienced in  Paradise  with  the  Father  before  the  world 
was,  and  said,  ''Father  I  remember  the  ecstasy  I  had 
with  Thee  before  the  world  was." 


In  the  Deep;  or,  Here  and  Hereafter       129 

The  forming  and  unforming  of  worlds  disturbs  not 
man,  "created  in  God's  image  and  likeness.''  Note  the 
distinction  between  the  creation  of  God, — ''Man,  His 
image  and  likeness," — and  the  forming  and  unforming 
of  worlds.  One  is  in  Eternity,  the  other  is  in  time.  The 
forming  of  the  worlds  is  an  out-picturing  of  the  carnal 
concept  which  has  crept  into  the  mind  of  man.  There  is 
no  materiality  in  God,  neither  His  Creation.  Eternity 
is  the  Here  and  Now. 

When  man  understands  Eternity,  the  Eternal  Crea- 
tion and  the  Law  governing  it,  and  when  he  understands 
God,  the  Creator  of  all,  he  then  knows  the  deep, — ^yes, 
the  deep, — things  of  The  Deep. 

Time  is  as  the  shifting  sands.  The  footprints  look  dis- 
tinct today ;  tomorrow  they  are  covered  so  that  there  is  no 
trace.  Tombstones  of  great  men  may  be  placed  in  solid 
granite  and  chiseled  from  blocks  of  marble,  but  in  a 
few  centuries  they  crumble  and  are  gone,  "and  the  place 
that  knew  them  knows  them  no  more."  The  tablets 
which  bear  the  records  of  the  brave  deeds  of  men  stand 
the  ravage  of  time  and  hold  before  the  world  the  memory 
of  the  men  whose  names  are  engraved  upon  them,  but 
time  will  finally  wear  them  away,  and  by  and  by  a  race 
has  passed  and  the  world's  people  knows  nothing  of  the 
prehistoric  peoples  which  inhabited  the  earth  before 
them, 

Eaces  have  been  born  upon  the  earth,  rocked  in  their 
cradle  of  infancy  and  grown  to  manhood.  Nations  have 
arisen  to  high  states  of  civilization ;  and,  as  the  sun  when 
it  reaches  its  zenith  begins  to  decline  and  the  shadows  to 
slant  until  it  passes  from  the  finite  view,  so  have  civiliza- 
tions outshone  in  high-noon.  Civilization  in  this  cycle 
has  passed  from  dawn  to  light,  thence  on  to  high  noon, 
and  at  this  zenith  man  has  thought  himself  wise  indeed, 
but  his  wisdom  has  no  power  to  stay  the  hand  of  the 
inevitable,  for  soon  the  sun  has  passed  its  high  skies  and 
begins  to  decline  to  where  the  horizon  is  low. 


130  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

There  is  a  ripening  time  to  the  race,  as  there  is  to  the 
individual,  and  Infinite  Love  will  so  guide  the  minds  of 
men  that  those  who  have  become  enlightened  in  knowing 
the  Truth  will  be  sustained  and  the  civilization  which  is 
now  nearing  its  zenith  will  be  transmuted  from  the  con- 
cept of  time  into  the  perception  of  Eternity  and  the 
glorious  Light  of  the  Son  of  God  will  shine  from  the  East 
unto  the  West.  ' '  Two  will  be  working  in  a  field,  one  will 
be  taken  and  the  other  left. ' ' 

The  Light  will  become  so  bright  upon  earth  that  dark- 
ness will  melt  away,  as  man  becomes  conscious  of  the 
Truth. 

It  behooves  all  men  in  the  dawn  of  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury to  seek  for  the  understanding  of  the  Truth,  for  these 
are  the  times  when  many  changes  are  taking  place  and 
will  continue  until  all  are  changed  and  established  upon 
new  foundations.  Let  all  who  have  the  Light  of  Truth 
stand  firm!  and  keep  on  the  road  of  righteousness,  be 
shod  with  sandals  of  good  deeds  and  remember  your  hel- 
met, which  is,  ''Know  the  Truth,  and  the  Truth  shall 
make  you  free." 

Jesus  Christ  knew  in  the  finishing  times  of  the  estab- 
lishing of  His  message  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  men 
that  there  would  be  tribulations.  He  knew  quite  well 
that  each  man  would  suffer  in  passing  from  the  carnal 
man's  beliefs,  fears,  loves  and  doubts  into  the  ''Glorious 
Liberty  of  the  Sons  of  God.'* 

Jesus  no  doubt  saw  down  the  centuries  that  day  in  the 
long  ago  when  He  sat  on  the  Hilltop  and  looked  over 
Jerusalem  and  exclaimed,  "Jerusalem!  Jerusalem!  How 
oft  would  I  have  gathered  thee,  as  a  hen  gathereth  her 
brood;  but  ye  would  not.*'  He  was  helpless  to  do  their 
work  for  them.  He  could  only  tell  them  the  Truth  and 
point  the  way  by  passing  through  the  carnal  world  and 
proving  His  Mastership,  and  He  said,  "Follow  thou  me." 
He  announced,  "I  have  overcome  the  world."  After 
Jesus  received  the  Baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit  He  was  in 
Prayer  and  Fasting  forty  days,  and  when  He  began  to 


In  the  Deep;  or,  Here  and  Hereafter       131 

hunger,  Satan  tempted  Him,  saying,  ''Command  the 
stones  to  be  made  bread,  that  they  may  satisfy  thy  hun- 
ger.*' But  Jesus,  in  the  might  and  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  commanded  him  to  depart  from  Him  in  those 
words  which  proved  so  powerful, — ' '  Get  thee  behind  me, 
Satan/' 

If  Jesus  Christ  had  heeded  the  advice  of  this  one,  who 
is  ever  using  his  cunning  wiles  to  beguile  man  from  the 
straight  Path  of  Truth,  and  used  His  yoga  and  mystical 
powers  to  turn  the  stones  into  bread  to  sustain  His  phys- 
ical body,  the  record  of  His  ministry  would  have  been 
marred  by  that  negative  surrender;  but  He  had  clear 
insight  and,  therefore,  was  not  moved  by  the  tempter  nor 
swayed  from  His  Spiritual  Light. 

Jesus  was  conscious  of  His  dominion  with  which  God 
endued  man  at  creation;  He  also  was  conscious  of  the 
Father's  guidance. 

Man,  who  is  fully  awakened  in  his  Spiritual  nature 
and  is  living  the  Truth  as  taught  by  the  Nazarene,  under- 
stands the  dominion  which  he  has.  It  being  Spiritual,  he 
will  not  use  it  for  selfish  purposes,  but  like  the  Master,  to 
uplift,  comfort,  heal,  teach  and  bless  humanity. 

All  will  not  hear,  neither  will  all  heed ;  but  that  should 
not  concern  the  man  who  has  the  Spiritual  Light,  as  it  is 
his  province  to  give  it  forth.  The  individual  who  hears 
has  his  privilege  of  choice.  If  he  chooses  the  Spiritual 
Light  and  in  earnestness  seeks  to  understand,  'tis  well; 
but  if  he  should  desire  to  tarry  in  the  forest  a  while  longer 
and  gather  the  spring  flowers  when  they  come  forth  into 
expression  after  the  rain  and  sunshine  have  melted  the 
snow  and  caused  the  earth  to  become  warm,  and  to  walk 
on  the  path  which  winds  its  way  through  carnality's 
forest,  he  has  the  privilege  to  so  do. 

When  man  awakens  sufficiently  to  hear  the  voice  of 
God  calling  in  the  cool  of  the  evening,  or  at  midnight, 
''Adam,  where  art  thou?",  if  he  will  begin  to  inquire  of 
himself,  "Where  am  I?"  the  urge  of  the  Soul,  Conscious 
Life,  within  him  will  lead  him  onward  until  he  passes 


132  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

through  the  forest  and  steps  into  the  open  plain,  where 
light  reigns  supreme  and  storms  are  unknown,  because 
it  is  the  Kingdom  of  Harmony.  When  man,  moved  by 
the  urge  of  the  Spirit,  arose  and,  under  the  guidance  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  God,  pressed  on  until  he  had  left  car- 
nality behind,  then  he  discovers  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven 
is  within  him;  and  when  he  steps  out  into  the  broad 
Light  of  Truth  he  sees  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  surround- 
ing him.  When  he  was  in  the  forest  (carnality)  he  saw 
only  carnality  and  its  laws  expressed  in  and  about  him. 
Then  he  became  conscious  of  the  Truth  and,  knowing  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  within  him,  he  steps  into  the  broad 
Light  of  Truth  and,  with  the  consciousness  of  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven  within  him  and  reflected  in  his  surround- 
ings, he  lives,  moves  and  has  his  being  in  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven,  and  it  reigns  within  him.  He  then  has  learned 
the  Truth  which  is  contained  in  the  message  of  the 
Nazarene. 

Jesus  Christ  knew  He  was  the  Son  of  God.  When 
man  arrives  at  the  same  place  on  the  Path  where  Jesus 
stood  and  understands  His  message,  man,  too,  will  be- 
come conscious  that  he  is  a  Son  of  God. 

It  matters  not  how  long  a  man  is  heir  to  a  vast  inherit- 
ance; it  does  him  no  special  good  until  he  knows.  He 
must  be  informed  concerning  his  heirship.  Then  he  must 
investigate  until  his  evidence  is  strong  and  clear.  Then 
he  can  apply  and,  being  provided  with  credentials,  he 
is  not  afraid  to  ask  for  recognition  into  the  Father's 
House. 

The  Father  has  never  lost  sight  of  His  perfect  child, 
even  when  he  was  in  the  thickest  part  of  the  forest ;  but 
man  has  lost  sight  of  the  Father.  So  completely  has  man 
forgotten  the  ecstasy  of  Paradise  that  sometimes  he  ex- 
claims there  is  no  God. 

Within  each  mortal  is  the  Divine-Man;  he  who  "never 
was  born  and  will  never  die,'' — **the  image  and  likeness 
of  God."     Mortality  may  seemingly  encase  it,  but  to 


In  the  Deep;  or,  Here  and  Hereafter       133 

touch,  blur  or  harm  it,  mortality  is  powerless.  Should 
man  hear  the  sweet  voice  of  God  and  understand  from 
whence  it  came,  he  would  awaken,  and  sound  slumber 
would  depart  from  him.  Some  day  the  urge  within  him, 
the  Soul-Consciousness,  will  be  so  strong  that  he  will 
arise,  fasten  on  his  armor  and,  with  determination  in 
his  mind,  start  forth  upon  the  Path  in  earnestness. 

When  man  is  learning  to  control  his  outer  mind,  if  he 
grows  wisely,  he  will  study  the  results  of  the  creation  of 
his  mind  and  how  to  control  them. 

Here  and  Now  is  the  place  and  time  for  man  to  im- 
prove himself  through  learning  the  Truths  that  lie  in 
the  deep  of  man  and  of  God. 

Carnality  and  the  carnal  man  is  on  the  surface,  and 
the  laws  governing  these  also ;  but  just  back  of  the  sur- 
face is  God  and  His  Perfect  Creation. 

It  does  not  require  traveling  for  man  to  pass  from  the 
carnal  man's  concept  into  the  Divine  Man's  Vision.  If 
you  remove  the  soot  from  the  window  pane,  the  light  is 
there.  It  is  not  manufactured  by  man's  efforts  in  rub- 
bing the  window  pane.  It  is  there  and  expresses  through 
his  consciousness  as  soon  as  the  soot  is  removed. 

We  desire  to  make  clear  the  Truth  which  lies  in  the 
Deep, — that  God's  work  is  completed;  it  is  perfect. 
There  can  be  nothing  added  to  it,  neither  taken  from  it, 
by  man.  There  is  no  separation,  no  duration,  no  car- 
nality. Man  then  is  free,  freed  by  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb,  which  is  symbolical  of  Wisdom,  Love  and  Power. 

When  man  hears  the  voice  of  God,  if  his  ear  catches 
the  sweetness  of  that  Voice  sufficiently  to  cause  him  to 
seek  to  know  and  understand  it,  he  will  see  that  he  has 
much  work  to  do.  As  was  shown  above,  man  can  do 
nothing  in  any  way  to  change  God's  Creation,  which  is 
man  and  the  Universe  and  all  which  the  Universe  con- 
tains. Man's  work,  then,  is  to  be  done  in  carnality.  It 
requires  a  strong  stroke  of  the  pen  to  portray  carnality 
as  it  is  so  that  man  can  understand  it. 


134  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

As  long  as  man  is  living  in  the  carnal  mind  concept, 
he  sees  himself  as  mortal  and  subject  to  carnality's  laws. 
He  recognizes  the  material  laws  as  the  only  Law. 

But  when  man's  vision  is  cleared  and  he  sees  through 
the  outer  garment,  he  perceives  "the  Creation  of  God" 
as  it  forever  is.  He  does  not  travel  to  reach  it.  He 
sees  that  it  is  at  hand. 

Man's  work  is  to  erase  the  false  beliefs  of  the  carnal 
man  from  his  mind  and  thereby  remove  the  picture  of 
these  from  his  body.  By  persistent  effort  he  will  see 
himself  as  the  Father  has  ever  seen  him, — a  perfect 
being.  "When  man  has  accomplished  this  he  will  see 
that  the  picture  of  the  carnal  universe  has  disappeared 
and  that  he  now  sees  around  him  the  perfect  world. 
Here  is  where  he  sees  Life,  alive  in  everything;  Love, 
breathing  through  grass,  flowers  and  stones;  and  the 
songs  of  the  birds,  a  note  touched  by  the  Hand  of  God 
upon  a  string  of  the  Infinite  Harp. 

Life  is  from  everlasting  to  everlasting  Here,  and  the 
Now  is  the  Hereafter,  because  there  is  no  place  where 
God  is  not,  and  time  is  not  known  in  Eternity. 

Go  seek  in  the  Deep,  0  man!  'Tis  there  thou  wilt 
find  thy  God.  When  thou  hast  found  "Him,  Whom  to 
know  is  Life  Eternal,"  go  sell  all  thou  hast  and  seek 
until  thou  findest  His  Wholeness ;  for  behold,  thou  wilt 
learn  of  Him  of  Whom  thou  art  a  part, — ^yes,  but  not 
separated  even  for  one  instant  from  Him,  even  as  a  ray 
of  light  cannot  be  separated  from  the  center,  lest  it 
would  cease  to  be.  This  is  the  pearl  of  rare  value.  It 
is  that  gem  which  is  found  only  in  the  depth  of  the 
Deep. 

When  man  learns  the  Truth  concerning  himself,  he 
will  stand  erect.  His  shoulders  will  no  longer  be  bent 
with  the  burden  of  care,  because  care  belongs  in  car- 
nality, and  to  the  carnal  man  Jesus  said,  "Cast  thy 
burdens  upon  Me. ' '  He  also  said,  "  I  am  the  Way,  the 
Truth  and  the  Life." 

Jesus,  knowing  the  Truth  of  His  Being,  with  rever- 


In  the  Deep;  or,  Here  and  Hereafter       135 

ence,  insight  and  adoration,  talked  to  His  Father- 
Mother-God. 

When  Jesus'  disciples  asked  Him  to  teach  them  how 
to  pray.  He,  understanding  the  Universal  Brotherhood 
of  the  Sons  of  God  and  the  Fatherhood  of  God,  said, 
*'Say  Our  Father  Who  art  in  Heaven."  Heaven  is 
Harmony.  "Hallowed  by  Thy  name."  Hallowed  is 
Holy,— Whole,  Perfect. 

When  man  has  the  wisdom  and  love  of  the  Christ, 
there  will  be  no  arrogance  or  bigotry;  but  Love  and 
Wisdom  will  be  clothed  in  a  robe  of  humility,  yet  of 
conscious  strength.  Then  no  man  need  ask,  "Who  art 
thou?"  because  they  will  know  by  the  life  lived. 

In  the  Deep,  or  Here  and  Hereafter,  is  the  theme  of 
our  expressions  in  this  chapter.  As  these  concern  man, 
both  collectively  and  individually,  we  endeavor  to  bring 
the  mind  of  the  individual  into  a  clear  perception  of  The 
Deep,  which  is  the  Truth  of  Man's  Being,  the  Truth  con- 
cerning God,  Aum,  and  the  Truth  of  the  Universe. 

Perfection  is  God  expressed  in  the  perfect  man  and 
the  Perfect  Universe  through  the  Perfect  Law  of  Action. 
It  is  finished!  This  is  the  Deep.  Man  is  here  in  the 
earth's  experiences  to  learn  this  and  to  erase  the  debris 
of  earth  from  his  mind  and  body, — this  is  the  Here. 

Now  is  the  only  time.  It  is  Eternity.  The  Real  Self, 
the  Divine  man  of  every  man  knows  the  Truth.  This 
consciousness  is  within.  Let  it  express.  The  form  of 
man  is  the  ' '  Temple  of  the  Living  God. ' '  Let  it  express 
the  Spirit-Substance  which  it  is,  and  burst  the  bonds  of 
mortality,  that  the  Son  of  God  may  step  from  his  clois- 
tered cell  in  carnality  and  announce  the  truth  of  his 
resurrection  so  that  we  may  sing,  "He  is  risen!  He  is 
risen ! ' '  and  the  glory  of  God  become  manifest  Here  and 
Now. 

In  the  Deep  we  find  the  present,  the  Here  and  the 
Hereafter,  and  the  Perfect  Man  dwelling  in  the  Perfect 
Universe,  God's  Perfect  Manifestation;  and  God,  Aum, 
is  the  All  in  All. 


CHAPTER  IX 

EXCLUSIVENESS. 

GOD  is  Exclusiveness.  Christ,  God's  Son,  is  the 
** Image  and  Likeness  of  God."  God,  being  ex- 
clusiveness, there  can  no  thing  come  out  from  Him 
but  that  which  is  Himself.  The  Word,  being  the  first 
expression  of  God,  Aum,  is  the  negative  side  of  the  In- 
finite. God,  or  Father,  represents  the  positive  part  of 
that  which  is,  ''Aum,'' — the  Creator,  the  first  and  only 
Cause."  In  a  preceding  chapter  we  have  portrayed 
A-um,  the  Impersonal  and  Ever-Present  God.  The  Word, 
being  the  first  expression  of  God,  is  Impersonal.  Thus 
we  have  the  Father-Mother-God,  or  Ever-present  Aum. 

When  the  desire  for  a  change  expressed  in  Aum,  the 
Sons  of  God  came  forth  from  the  Infinite  womb  clothed 
with  the  Christ-Mind,  which  is  the  Infinite  Intelligence 
individualized.  They,  having  the  God-Mind  individual- 
ized within  them,  are  the  Sons  of  God,  or  the  manifesta- 
tion of  that  which  is. 

When  the  Infinite  reposed,  there  was  only  one  expres- 
sion ;  the  myriad  of  expressions  lay  serenely  in  the  In- 
finite Life,  as  the  life  of  the  oak  tree  lies  hidden  in  the 
acorn. 

God  being  Exclusiveness,  there  is  nothing  within, 
around  or  about  but  Aum. 

What  is  Aum?  The  Impersonal  God.  What  is  the 
Impersonal  God?  Life,  Light,  Truth,  Love,  Power,  In- 
telligence. Some  of  the  variegated  expressions  of  Aum 
are  Harmony,  Peace,  Satisfaction,  Intelligence,  Right- 
eousness and  Bliss.    These,  blended  together  in  one  great 

136 


EXCLUSIVENESS  137 

ALL,  compose  the  Infinite  Who  fills  all  space.  The 
Heart  of  God  is  here,  there  and  everywhere,  it  being 
Omnipresent. 

God  being  Exclusiveness,  there  is  nothing  in  His  pres- 
ence but  His  expressions.  Aum,  God,  cannot  be  divided, 
for  He  is  forever  the  One.  Even  though  there  seem  to 
be  myriads  of  expressions,  there  is  only  One, — ^the  Great 
Whole,  with  the  one  Life  living  each  expression,  from 
the  grain  of  sand,  the  atom  of  earth,  the  blade  of  grass, 
to  man,  God's  highest  expression. 

The  Hebrew  version  reads:  *'In  the  beginning  the 
Eternal  One,  Who  forever  is,  created  the  heaven  and  the 
earth.'*  In  Genesis  1:2  we  read,  *'And  the  earth  was 
without  form  and  void,  and  darkness  was  upon  the  face 
of  the  deep ;  and  the  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the  face 
of  the  waters.'' 

"And  God  made  the  firmament  and  divided  the  waters 
which  were  under  the  firmament  from  the  waters  which 
were  above  the  firmament,  and  it  was  so." — Gen.  1:7. 

''And  God  called  the  firmament  Heaven.  And  the 
evening  and  morning  were  the  second  day. ' ' — Gen.  1 :8. 

''And  God  said.  Let  the  waters  under  the  heavens  be 
gathered  together  into  one  place,  and  let  the  dry  land 
appear ;  and  it  was  so. ' ' — Gen.  1 :9. 

"And  God  called  the  dry  land  Earth;  and  the  gather- 
ing together  of  the  waters  called  He  seas :  and  God  saw 
that  it  was  good. ' ' — Gen.  1 :10. 

"And  God  said,  Let  the  earth  bring  forth  grass,  the 
herb  yielding  seed,  and  the  fruit  tree  yielding  fruit  after 
his  kind,  whose  seed  is  in  itself,  upon  the  earth:  and  it 
was  so." — Gen.  1:11. 

' '  And  God  said,  Let  there  be  lights  in  the  firmament  of 
the  heaven  to  divide  the  day  from  the  night:  and  let 
them  be  for  signs  and  for  seasons  and  for  days  and  for 
years." — Gen.  1:14. 

"And  let  them  be  for  lights  in  the  firmament  of  heaven 
to  give  light  upon  the  earth :  and  it  was  so." — Gen.  1:15. 

"And  God  made  two  Great  lights;  the  greater  light  to 


138  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

rule  the  day,  and  the  lesser  light  to  rule  the  night.  He 
made  the  stars  also. ' ' — Gen.  1 :16.  ■ 

'*And  God  set  them  in  the  firmament  of  the  heavens  to 
give  light  upon  the  earth." — Gen.  1:17. 

''And  to  rule  over  the  day  and  over  the  night,  and  to 
divide  the  light  from  the  darkness:  and  God  saw  that  it 
was  good.'* — Gen.  1:18. 

"And  God  said,  Let  us  make  man  in  our  Image,  after 
our  Likeness:  and  let  them  have  dominion  over  the  fish 
of  the  sea,  and  over  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  over  the  cattle 
and  over  all  the  earth,  and  over  every  creeping  thing  that 
creepeth  upon  the  earth.'* — Gen.  1:26. 

' '  So  God  created  man  in  His  own  Image ;  in  the  Image 
of  God  created  He  him:  male  and  female  created  He 
i\iem.''—Gen.  1:27  . 

''And  God  blessed  them,  and  God  said  unto  them,  Be 
fruitful  and  multiply,  and  replenish  the  earth,  and  sub- 
due it:  and  have  dominion  over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and 
over  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  over  every  living  thing  that 
moveth  upon  the  earth." — Gen.  1:28. 

"And  God  said,  Behold,  I  have  given  you  every  herb- 
bearing  seed,  which  is  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth,  and 
every  tree,  in  which  is  the  fruit  of  a  tree  yielding  seed ; 
to  you  it  shall  be  for  meat. ' ' — Gen.  1 :29. 

"And  God  saw  every  thing  that  He  had  made,  and, 
behold,  it  was  very  good.  And  the  evening  and  the  morn- 
ing were  the  sixth  day." — Gen.  1:31. 

' '  Thus  the  heavens  and  the  earth  were  finished,  and  all 
the  hosts  of  them." — Gen.  2:1, 

"And  on  the  seventh  day  God  ended  His  work  which 
He  had  made;  and  He  rested  on  the  seventh  day  from 
all  His  work  which  He  had  made." — Gen.  2:2. 

"And  God  blessed  the  seventh  day,  and  sanctified  it; 
because  that  in  it  He  had  rested  from  all  His  work  which 
God  had  created  and  made." — Gen.  2:3. 

"These  are  the  generations  of  the  heavens  and  of  the 
earth  when  they  were  created  in  the  day  that  the  Lord 
God  made  the  earth  and  the  heavens." — Gen.  2:4. 


EXCLUSIVENESS  139 

''And  every  plant  of  the  field  before  it  was  in  the 
earth,  and  every  herb  before  it  grew :  for  the  Lord  God 
had  not  caused  it  to  rain  upon  the  earth,  and  there  was 
not  a  man  to  till  the  ground.*' — Gen.  2:5. 

*'But  there  went  up  a  mist  from  the  earth,  and  watered 
the  whole  face  of  the  ground.'' — Gen.  2:6. 

**And  the  Lord  God  formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the 
ground,  and  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life : 
and  man  became  a  living  soul. — Gen.  2:7. 

Harmony  is  Heaven 's  first  and  only  Law.  The  Infinite 
is  a  Harp  of  many  strings,  each  perfectly  attuned,  and 
gives  forth  peal  after  peal  of  Harmonious  Rhythm  and 
joyous  ecstasy,  melting  away  into  the  Silence  in  blissful 
reverie. 

Man,  ''the  image  and  likeness  of  God,"  is  also  a  harp 
of  many  strings.  When  his  finger  of  Love  touches  the 
chord  he  vibrates  in  Rhythm  with  the  Infinite  Harp  and 
the  love  of  his  being  responds  to  the  Love  of  the  Infinite. 

God  is  Exclusiveness,  and  He  created  all  that  was  cre- 
ated. However,  in  the  quotations  above,  from  the  first 
and  second  chapters  of  Genesis,  we  perceive  two  creators. 
The  first  is  God.  And  He  pronounced  His  creation  good. 
"And  God  saw  every  thing  that  He  had  made,  and, 
behold,  it  was  very  good.  And  the  evening  and  the  morn- 
ing were  the  sixth  day." — Genesis  1st  chapter,  31st  verse. 
The  Lord  God  is  presented  to  us  in  the  second  chapter. 
Yet  we  read,  "God  is  All,"  and  "there  is  none  beside 
Him. "  In  a  place  filled  with  light  there  can  be  no  dark- 
ness, as  "darkness  is  the  absence  of  light,"  and  light 
and  darkness  can  no  more  mingle  than  heat  and  cold  can 
fill  the  same  place  at  the  same  time. 

"God  is  Intelligence,"  and  man.  His  likeness,  is  intel- 
ligence expressed.  As  God  is  more  than  mind,  so  man. 
His  image,  is  more  than  mind. 

"God  is  Life."  Man,  His  image,  is  Conscious  Life 
expressed  in  him,  and  that  expression  is  called  Soul. 

God  is  Spirit.  Thus  we  see  man.  His  image  and  like- 
ness, is  Spirit-Substance. 


140  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

God  is  All,  filling  all  Space.  God,  being  Spirit,  this 
Spirit-Substance  fills  all  space,  and  from  this  God  made 
the  forms  of  His  creation,— '' Man  in  His  image  and  like- 
ness," and  the  Universe  and  all  therein.  He  pronounced 
it  good, — ^yes,  very  good ;  and  the  evening  and  the  morn- 
ing were  the  sixth  day,  and  He  rested  on  the  seventh  day 
from  all  His  works  and  all  that  He  had  made. 

In  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  we  read  the  account  of 
the  perfect  creation,  given  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the 
language  that  the  men  of  earth  could  and  can  under- 
stand. We  read  of  the  night  and  day,  of  morning  and 
evening ;  yet  we  perceive  that  God  is  Light  and  ' '  In  Him 
is  no  shadow  of  turning.''  Therefore,  we  see  these  as 
representing  the  cycles  as  they  come  and  go.  In  the 
visible  universe  we  see  the  seed  time  and  harvest  and  the 
years  as  they  roll  by,  four  seasons  in  each.  We  read  in 
Genesis,  first  chapter,  second  verse:  "And  the  earth  was 
without  form  and  void,  and  darkness  was  upon  the  face 
of  the  deep ;  and  the  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the  face 
of  the  waters. ' ' 

Ignorance  in  the  mind  of  man  is  the  cause  of  darkness. 
Jesus,  the  Christ  Illumined  One,  saw  no  darkness,  as  He, 
with  the  eye  of  vision,  looked  into  His  own  Being,  and, 
therefrom,  announced  to  the  Infinite,  ''Our  Father,  I 
remember  the  ecstacy  which  I  had  while  I  dwelt  in  Para- 
dise before  the  world  was.'' 

The  wise  ones  of  earth  understand  concerning  the  sea- 
sons as  they  come  and  go  and  adjust  their  lives  and 
affairs  accordingly;  therefore,  when  the  sowing  time  is 
at  hand,  he  has  his  seed  ready  to  sow ;  when  the  harvest 
time  arrives,  he  is  prepared  to  harvest  and  care  for  the 
grain.  When  the  winter  season  is  at  hand,  he  rests  from 
his  labors,  this  being  the  time  of  enjoying  the  fruits  of  his 
labor.  If  he  is  wise  he  will  improve  this  trysting  time 
and  thereby  be  ready  when  the  time  of  action  arrives 
again ;  which  he  knows  will  be  when  the  winds  blow  soft 
from  the  south,  ladened  with  the  breath  of  the  tropical 


EXCLUSIVENESS  141 

clime,  and  the  sun  kisses  the  earth  with  its  life-giving 
force. 

The  wise  of  earth  doubt  not  concerning  the  recurring 
of  the  seasons,  he  having  learned  through  experience  to 
rely  upon  them.  The  man  of  trust  remembers  that  God 
hath  promised  seed-time  and  harvest  shall  not  fail.  So 
we  see  the  man  who,  through  the  eye  of  sense,  has  learned 
to  observe  nature  and  trust  its  law ;  and,  also,  we  see  the 
man  who  has  looked  through  nature  to  ** Nature's  God" 
and  has  faith  in  Him,  the  Creator  of  all,  and  relies  upon 
His  promises.  Both  men  can  give  a  reason  for  the  hope 
within  them.  One  is  leaning  upon  a  reed,  which  the 
Creator  can  bend  or  even  destroy,  while  the  other  has  a 
staff  strong  and  reliable  which  is  ever  his  stay, — the  staff 
of  the  Promise  of  God. 

God  is  Light;  in  Him  there  is  no  darkness.  Then  it 
remains  to  be  recognized  by  man  that  darkness,  which  is 
reported  as  being  over  the  face  of  the  deep,  is  only  in  the 
minds  of  men. 

Ignorance  is  darkness.  Anything  which  man  does  not 
comprehend  seems  dark  and  mysterious;  but,  when  the 
mind  is  illumined,  there  is  no  darkness  nor  mysticism. 

God  is  Exclusiveness.  He  became  manifest  through 
His  creation,  in  which  there  is  no-thing  but  God, — His 
Law  and  the  laws  therein,  acting  in  and  through  it. 

God's  creation  represents  the  universal  Whole  and  is 
governed  by  the  Universal  and  Ever-present  God.  His 
Creation  is  composed  of  individualized  expressions.  All 
are  vibrant  with  Life  and  Intelligence,  from  the  smallest, 
the  atom,  unto  man,  the  highest  expression ;  and  man  is 
endued  with  the  attributes  of  God  and  commanded  by 
the  Infinite,  Our  Father-Mother,  to  subdue  the  earth. 

Man  as  an  individualized  expression  of  God  has  within 
him  all  the  potentialities  of  God.  He,  being  one  expres- 
sion of  God,  has  not  so  much  Life,  power  and  intelligence 
as  God.  Therefore,  when  man  learns  to  know  God  and 
himself,  he  can  and  will  recline  in  Love  and  Trust  upon 


142  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

the  Bosom  of  the  Infinite  without  care,  confusion  or 
doubt,  and  remain  as  care-free  and  beautiful  as  the  water 
lily  when  it  rests  upon  the  bosom  of  the  water.  This  is 
man's  inheritance. 

Jesus,  having  reached  the  great  height  of  concept  and 
knowing  that  "He  and  the  Father  are  one,"  said,  *'The 
Father  is  greater  than  I. ' '  He,  having  come  to  the  earth 
for  the  expressed  purpose  of  teaching  men  the  Truth 
about  themselves  and  God  and  by  His  works  proving 
the  truthfulness  of  His  teachings,  saw  all  of  the  wiles 
of  the  adversary.  He  saw  here  a  place  where  the  one 
who  is  opposed  to  man's  finding  the  straight,  clear  and 
beautiful  Path  of  Truth,  will,  when  man  through  awak- 
ening discovers  the  truth  of  his  being  and  is  desirous  of 
conscientiously  living  in  that  concept  of  himself,  en- 
deavor to  encourage  him  to  see  himself  so  great  that  he 
may  for  a  time  lose  sight  of  the  infinite  Whole. 

A  drop  in  the  ocean  has  all  the  properties  of  the  ocean 
within  it.  Analyze  it  and  it  is  found  to  be  composed  of 
the  same  substance  as  the  ocean ;  but  inconsistent  indeed 
would  it  be,  when  it  knows  the  Truth  concerning  itself, 
to  imagine  that  it  can  live  as  unto  itself  in  non-recogni- 
tion of  the  great  ocean  within  whose  heart  it  dwells  and 
whose  Laws  operate  in,  through  and  around  it.  Wise 
indeed  would  this  drop  be  if,  when  it  knew  itself  as  it  is, 
it  would  love  the  great  ocean, — its  creator,  and  reverently 
abide  within  its  bosom  and  willingly  be  in  accord  with  the 
Law  as  it  governs  in  unceasing  accuracy  the  ebb  and 
flow  of  the  tide.  Futile,  indeed,  would  it  be  for  one  little 
drop,  even  though  it  had  come  into  illumination  concern- 
ing the  truth  of  its  being,  to  endeavor  to  live  and  act  in 
opposition  to  the  Law  which  is,  or  in  non-recognition 
of  it. 

Futile  it  is  for  man,  when  he  has  become  somewhat 
illumined,  to  desire  to  live  as  unto  himself,  recognizing 
only  the  ''God  within,"  for,  were  there  no  Infinite,  there 
would  be  none  expressed  within  him. 


EXCLUSIVENESS  143 

When  man  through  perception,  then  insight,  has  ar- 
rived at  Illumination,  and  by  its  light  burning  in  his 
consciousness  knows  God  as  Exclusiveness  and  himself  as 
the  image  and  likeness  of  Exclusiveness,  he  will  perceive 
that  it  requires  more  than  simply  himself  to  accomplish 
that  which  he  desires.  Then  he,  with  the  eye  of  vision, 
looks  to  the  center  of  Exclusiveness,  God,  Who  is  Intelli- 
gence, Love  and  Power. 

God,  the  Infinite  which  is,  is  all  there  really  is.  It 
matters  not  if  the  Infinite  reposes  and  is  unmanifest,  or 
if  He  is  in  expression  through  myriads  of  forms,  there 
is  only  God.  He,  the  Infinite  Aum,  the  Impersonal  God, 
is  exclusive,  as  there  is  nothing  but  God  and  His  expres- 
sions in  form. 

There  is  only  the  God-mind,  and  it  operates  in  and 
through  the  expressions  of  God,  according  to  their  ca- 
pacity to  express.  Man  being  the  highest  expression  of 
God,  the  mind  of  God  can  more  fully  express  through 
him.  As  man  becomes  enlightened  concerning  the  Reality 
of  Being,  the  All-ness  of  Truth  and  the  One-ness  of  Life, 
he  will  recognize  the  universal  brotherhood  of  God's 
creation,  which  has  never  been  broken  or  even  disturbed 
by  the  seeming  separation  into  races  and  nationalities. 

As  the  seasons  come  and  go  in  the  natural  world,  under 
the  laws  of  nature,  so  there  are  cycles  and  periods  which 
register  the  events  such  as  the  ripening  of  the  age,  the 
ending  of  the  cycles  and  the  recognition  of  the  periods. 
As  there  comes  the  ripening  time  for  the  fruit,  so  there 
is  the  ripening  time  for  the  Souls  of  men.  The  fruit 
ripens  upon  the  tree  and  expresses  according  to  its  kind, 
be  it  apple,  orange  or  peach.  Men  of  earth  come  to  the 
ripening  time,  having  grown  upon  the  human  tree. 

When  the  Soul,  which  God  caused  to  become  manifest 
in  man  as  Conscious  Life,  bursts  forth  from  its  cloistered 
cell  and  expresses  conscious  Life  and  the  mind  of  man 
is  illumined  in  the  Truth  of  Being,  the  cycle  is  at  a  close 
for  the  harvesting  of  such. 


144  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

The  Infinite  Intelligence,  which  is  the  Impersonal 
Aum,  is  in  each  and  every  expression,  and  it  broods 
over  and  perceives  the  degree  of  intelligence  expressed 
in  each  and  every  expression.  It,  being  the  Infinite 
Intelligence  which  sees  and  Loves  all,  causes  all  to  work 
together  for  the  great  good  of  the  whole.  The  ripening 
of  the  cycle  comes,  the  good  is  accomplished  and  the 
illumined  man  steps  forth  into  the  ''Glorious  liberty  of 
the  Son  of  God."  This  is  man's  destiny,  and  none  can 
stay  it. 

In  the  Exclusiveness  of  God  there  is  naught  to  fear. 
None  can  enter  there  which  maketh  disease,  death  or  a 
lie.  Impurity  or  imperfection  can  find  no  abiding  place 
there. 

God  is  Exclusiveness.  In  Him  Love,  Purity,  Perfec- 
tion and  Eternal  Life  abide;  and  man,  "God's  image 
and  likeness,"  being  a  manifestation  of  God's  own  self, 
abides  there.  His  Home  is  the  Heart  of  Aum, — our 
Heavenly  Father;  and  His  Infinite  arm  embraces,  His 
strength  sustains  and  His  Love  fills  and  enfolds  man, 
His  Creation,  His  sons.  When  man  perceives  the  Exclu- 
siveness of  God  and  that  man  is  this  exclusiveness  in 
manifestation,  and,  also,  that  he  lives,  moves  and  has  his 
being  in  God — Exclusiveness — he  then  will  understand 
and  revere  the  Being  which  Is,  forever  was  and  will 
never  cease  to  be,  God — Exclusiveness. 

When  man  clearly  perceives  the  Exclusiveness  of  God 
and  His  Creation,  including  man,  disease  will  fall  from 
his  body,  false  beliefs  from  his  mind,  the  manifestation 
of  poverty  from  his  environments  and  the  limitation  of 
time  from  his  concept ;  as  these  belong  only  to  the  crea- 
tion of  the  Lord  God  as  portrayed  in  the  second  chapter 
of  Genesis,  and  not  to  the  man,  or  creation,  which  came 
into  expression  at  the  bidding  of  God, — the  impersonal 
Aum. 

Step,  0  man,  into  the  consciousness  of  God-Exclu- 
siveness,  and  sit  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father 
and  there  abide.    You  will  then  drink  of  the  cool  and 


EXCLUSIVENESS  145 

sparkling  water  as  it  flows  at  your  feet  and  feed  upon 
the  bread  of  heaven,  which  is  Harmony  and  Love,  and 
there  live  in  the  joy  of  Being.  This  is  that  for  which 
God  created  man, — **To  Be,"  which  means  to  express 
Being,  which  is  God. 

How  can  man  consciously  live  and  express  Being  day 
by  day?  By  keeping  the  mind  ever  stayed  upon  God, 
which  brings  about  Spiritual  understanding,  ability  and 
insight  and  through  love  and  devotion  merging  his  heart 
into  the  Heart  of  the  Infinite.  Thus  man's  mind  and 
body  become  transmuted  from  the  appearance  of  the 
creation  of  the  Lord  God  into  the  expression  of  God,  the 
only  True  and  Perfect  Creator,  whose  creation  never 
changes,  even  though  to  appearance  man  may  seem  to 
be  covered  with  the  dust  of  the  ground  from  which  the 
Lord  God  caused  His  creations  to  come  forth. 

In  God,  the  Holy  City,  man,  the  individualized  Holy 
City,  abides.  There  is  no  night  there,  because  the  Intelli- 
gence and  Love  of  God  Lights  it.  There  is  no  night  in 
man,  when  he  awakens  to  the  Truth  of  his  Being,  because 
the  Intelligence  and  Love  of  God  are  the  Light  within 
him, — ''The  Light  that  lighteth  every  man  who  cometh 
into  the  world.'' 

Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth  was  conscious  of  His  true 
being  and  of  the  Light,  Life  and  Truth  within  Him,  and 
of  His  inseparableness  from  the  Father. 

A  secret  lies  seemingly  buried  deep  in  this  mystery  of 
man's  at-one-ness  with  God.  Jesus  held  the  key,  un- 
locked the  door,  entered  and  called  down  the  centuries, 
''Follow  thou  me!" 

The  key  is  Infinite  Love  and  Intelligence,  which  reveals 
to  the  man  who  has  awakened  sufficiently  from  the  Adam- 
Sleep  the  truth  of  man's  true  Being. 

When  man  becomes  consciously  illumined  concerning 
God  and  His  perfect  creation,  and  knows  that  "man  is 
the  crowning  glory  of  God,"  and  perceives  this  Great 
Truth  of  Being  with  understanding  and  vision,  man  will 
then  walk  the  earth  in  consciousness  of  his  divinitv  and 


146  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

remember  the  dominion  with  which  God  endued  him  at 
creation  in  the  soft  pink  and  lavender  dawn  of  that  day 
when  man  became  conscious  of  his  individuality. 

A  master?  Yes!  When  man  knows  consciously  the 
Truth  of  his  Being  and  his  at-one-ment  with  God,  he  will 
realize  the  God  within  him  and  he  will  talk  consciously 
face  to  face  with  God, — The  Father. 

Fear,  superstition,  doubt  and  ignorance  having  been 
erased  from  his  mind,  there  is  nothing  between  him  and 
his  God,  just  as  there  is  nothing  between  man  and  the 
starry  dome  of  the  sky. 

We  will  repeat  some  of  those  things  which  the  Illum- 
ined man,  Jesus,  spoke,  without  any  taint  of  selfishness 
or  bigotry,  from  the  Christ-mind  within  Him : 

''These  words  spake  Jesus,  and  lifted  up  His  eyes 
toward  heaven,  and  said,  Father,  the  hour  is  come; 
glorify  Thy  Son,  that  Thy  Son  also  may  glorify  Thee.*' — 
St.  John  17:1. 

' '  As  Thou  hast  given  Him  power  over  all  flesh  that  He 
should  give  eternal  life  to  as  many  as  Thou  hast  given 
himr— St.  John  17:2. 

*'And  this  is  Life  eternal,  that  they  might  know  Thee, 
the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  Thou  hast 
^QnV— St.  John  17:3. 

'*I  have  glorified  Thee  on  the  earth.  I  have  finished 
the  work  which  Thou  hast  given  me  to  do." — St.  John 
17:4. 

*'And  now,  0  Father,  glorify  Thou  me  with  Thine 
own  self,  with  the  glory  which  I  had  with  Thee  before 
the  world  was." — St.  John  17:5. 

''Hitherto  have  ye  asked  nothing  in  my  name:  ask, 
and  ye  shall  receive,  that  your  joy  may  be  full." — St. 
John  16:24. 

"These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you  in  proverbs: 
but  the  time  cometh  when  I  shall  no  more  speak  unto  you 
in  proverbs,  but  I  shall  show  you  plainly  of  the  Father." 
—St.  John  16:25. 


EXCLUSIVENESS  147 

"At  that  day  ye  shall  ask  in  my  name:  and  I  say  not 
unto  you  that  I  will  pray  the  Father  for  you : '  * — St.  John 
16:26  . 

''For  the  Father  Himself  loveth  you,  because  ye  have 
loved  me,  and  have  believed  that  I  came  out  from  God.*' 
—St.  John  16:27. 

**I  came  forth  from  the  Father,  and  am  come  into  the 
world :  again,  I  leave  the  world,  and  go  to  the  Father. '  * — 
St.  John  16:28. 

''Howbeit  when  he,  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  is  come,  he  will 
guide  you  into  all  truth :  for  he  shall  not  speak  of  him- 
self;  but  whatsoever  he  shall  hear,  that  shall  he  speak: 
and  he  will  show  you  things  to  come.*' — St.  John  16:13. 

*'In  my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions:  if  it  were 
not  so,  I  would  have  told  you.  I  go  to  prepare  a  place 
for  you."— >Sfl  John  14:2. 

**Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled:  ye  believe  in  God, 
believe  also  in  me." — St.  John  14:1  . 

'*And  if  I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come 
again,  and  receive  you  unto  myself;  that  where  I  am, 
there  ye  may  be  also." — St.  John  14:3. 

''And  whither  I  go  ye  know,  and  the  way  ye  know." — 
St.  John  14:4. 

''If  ye  had  known  me,  ye  should  have  known  my 
Father  also:  and  from  henceforth  ye  know  Him,  and 
have  seen  Him." — St.  John  14:7. 

' '  Jesus  saith  unto  him.  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with 
you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not  known  me,  Philip  ?  He  that 
hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father ;  and  how  sayest  thou, 
then,  Shew  us  the  Father"  'i.—St.  John  14:9. 

"Believest  thou  not  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the 
Father  in  me  ?  The  words  that  I  speak  unto  you  I  speak 
not  of  myself:  but  the  Father  that  dwelleth  in  me,  he 
doeth  the  works.  "—;Sf#.  John  14:10. 

"Believe  me  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father 
in  me:  or  else  believe  me  for  the  very  works'  sake." — 
St.  John  14:11. 


148  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

"Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  He  that  believe th  on 
me,  the  works  that  I  do  shall  he  do  also;  and  greater 
works  than  these  shall  he  do:  because  I  go  unto  my 
Father. ''—^^.  John  14:12. 

''And  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  ray  name,  that  will  I 
do,  that  the  Father  may  be  glorified  in  the  Son." — St. 
John  14:13. 

' '  If  ye  shall  ask  anything  in  my  name,  I  will  do  it. ' ' — 
St.  John  14:14. 

*'If  ye  love  me,  keep  my  commandments." — St.  John 
14:15, 

''And  I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  He  shall  give  you 
another  Comforter,  that  he  may  abide  with  you  forever ;  * ' 
—St.  John  14:16. 

"Even  the  Spirit  of  Truth  whom  the  world  cannot 
receive,  because  it  seeth  him  not,  neither  knoweth  him: 
but  ye  know  him ;  for  he  dwelleth  Avith  you,  and  shall  be 
in  jovi.''—St.  John  14:17. 

' '  I  will  not  leave  you  comfortless ;  I  will  come  to  you. ' ' 
—St.  John  14:18. 

"At  that  day  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  in  my  Father, 
and  ye  in  me,  and  I  in  you." — St.  John  14:20. 

"But  the  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom 
the  Father  will  send  in  my  name,  he  shall  teach  you  all 
things,  and  bring  all  things  to  your  remembrance,  what- 
soever I  have  said  unto  you." — St.  John  14:26. 

"Peace  I  leave  with  you,  my  peace  I  give  unto. you: 
not  as  the  world  giveth,  give  I  unto  you.  Let  not  your 
heart  be  troubled,  neither  let  it  be  afraid." — St.  John 
14:27. 

"I  am  the  true  vine,  and  my  Father  is  the  husband- 
man."— St.  John  15:1. 

"Now  ye  are  clean  through  the  word  which  I  have 
spoken  unto  you." — St.  John  15:3. 

"Abide  in  me,  and  I  in  you.  As  the  branch  cannot 
bear  fruit  of  itself,  except  it  abide  in  the  vine,  no  more 
can  ye,  except  ye  abide  in  me." — St.  John  15:4. 


EXCLUSIVENESS  149 

*'I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches:  He  that  abideth 
in  me,  and  I  in  him,  the  same  bringeth  forth  much  fruit : 
for  without  me  ye  can  do  nothing. ' ' — St.  John  15 :5. 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  pattern-Man.  He  knew  the  Truth 
and  is  expressing  it,  as  the  Father  desireth.  The  instruc- 
tions which  He  gave  to  His  disciples  were  for  all  men ; 
and  all  who  can  hear,  believe  and  understand  them  can 
and  will  bring  forth  into  expression  the  Christ-Mind, 
clothed  upon  with  the  Spirit-Substance-form,  Perfect  as 
God  made  it  at  creation;  or,  in  that  day  when  man  be- 
came conscious  of  his  individuality. 

When  man  understands  the  message  of  Jesus  and 
brings  it  into  expression,  he  will  know,  as  Jesus  did,  his 
at-one-ment  with  the  Father;  also  the  One-ness  of  Life 
and  the  here  and  now  of  the  omnipresence  of  God.  Also, 
he  will  know  that  there  is  no  separation  in  God,  because 
Aum  is  One,  and  that  time  is  not ;  because  God, — Exclu- 
siveness, — is  Eternity. 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  Pattern-Man  who  stands  in  the 
center,  a  visible  manifestation  of  God  of  which  we  read 
the  account  in  the  first  Chapter  of  Genesis.  All  men  step 
forth  from  the  womb  of  the  Infinite  at  creation,  "the 
image  and  likeness  of  God ' ' ;  and  man  remains  this  per- 
fect being  which  is  anchored  in  Eternity  and  dwells  in 
the  God,  Exclusiveness,  and  never  changes,  because  God 's 
creation  cannot  change.  When  man  becomes  illumined 
concerning  his  True  Being,  he  will  at  all  times  perceive 
the  perfection  of  himself  and  that  of  his  fellow-man; 
even  though  some  of  them  may  be  so  encased  in  the  debris 
of  earth  that  there  is  not  one  expression  of  his  true  being, 
on  face,  form  or  in  the  mind.  However,  the  enlightened 
one  will  always  remember  that  the  Real  must  be  before 
the  counterfeit  can  become. 

In  the  second  chapter  of  Genesis  we  read  an  account 
of  the  creation  of  the  Lord  God.  The  question  arises. 
Who  or  what  is  the  Lord  God,  and  from  whence  came 
He  ?    When  man  clearly  sees  the  distinction  between  the 


150  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Creator,  God,  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  the  Creator 
of  the  Perfect  and  Eternal  Creation,  which  is  accom- 
plished in  Spirit,  and  the  creation  in  the  second  chapter, 
when  the  Lord  God  came  into  notice  and  created  man 
from  the  dust  of  the  ground  and  woman  from  a  rib 
taken  from  the  side  of  Adam  (that  woman  might  walk 
by  man's  side  and  be  his  companion  in  the  earth  experi- 
ences), man  then  will  stand  free  from  the  illusions  of 
the  carnal  mind. 

In  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  we  read,  ''Male  and 
female  created  He  the  men  of  earth," — created  them  in 
the  Spiritual  Creation,  each  an  expression  of  God,  as 
man  is  positive  and  negative.  How  do  we  know  this  to 
be  true?  some  may  ask.  Because  man,  "the  image  and 
likeness  of  God,"  must  be  like  God  in  essence  and  in 
expression. 

We  have  expressed,  in  a  preceding  chapter,  the  Truth 
that  God  was  One.  He  desired  a  change,  and  the  first 
expression  we  have  of  Himself  is  the  Word,  which,  being 
expressed  by  God,  is  the  negative  side  of  His  Being. 
God,  the  Positive,  represents  the  Father.  Thus  we  have 
the  Father-Mother-God,  both  being  One.  Man,  God's 
image  and  likeness,  has,  therefore,  the  negative  and  pos- 
itive in  his  being.  The  Lord  God  brings  these  qualities 
into  expression  through  bodies  formed  by  himself. 

God  being  All,  how  could  this  take  place  ?  Man's  mind 
is  the  individualized  Divine  Mind.  God's  mind,  which  is 
the  Infinite  Intelligence,  has  within  it  the  power  to  desire 
a  change.  This  being  the  desire  in  the  Infinite  Mind,  the 
Infinite  Creation  came  forth.  Now  note:  Creation  at 
the  desire  of  God  came  from  God  into  expression,  in  God. 
Man's  mind  being  God's  Mind  individualized,  has  within 
it  the  power  to  desire  a  change.  The  Lord  God  came  into 
expression  and  he  is  an  expression  or  creation  of  man's 
mind.  There  is  no  reality  in  evil.  It  has  not  as  yet  come 
into  manifestation;  but  the  deeds  of  man's  mind  and 
hands,  which  now  are  recognized  as  evil,  have  been  the 


EXCLUSIVENESS  151 

outcome  of  that  change  in  the  individualized  mind  of 
man  which  came  about  through  desire. 

When  God  and  the  Word  caused  creation  to  become 
manifest,  Man,  * '  the  image  and  likeness  of  God, ' '  stepped 
forth  from  the  Infinite  womb  Perfect,  into  a  Perfect  Uni- 
verse. This  state  is  known  as  the  Paradisaical,  and  man 
dwelt  in  Paradise.  The  length  of  time  man  remained  in 
the  Paradisaical  state  no  man  knoweth,  *'not  even  the 
Son,  but  the  Father.*' 

The  ecstasy  of  that  blissful  state  Jesus  Christ  has  re- 
vealed to  man.  There  came  a  time  when  one  by  one  men 
began  to  wonder  how  it  might  be  to  be  away  from  that 
blissful  state.  We  will  express  it  thus:  As  the  wonder 
concerning  it  grew,  it  finally  became  desire,  and  when 
desire  was  formed  in  the  individual  mind,  man  gradually 
began  to  look  away  from  God.  As  long  as  his  mind  was 
centered  within  his  own  being,  where  his  Individual  Life 
is  conjoined  with  the  Infinite,  where  his  individualized 
mind  is  at-one  with  the  Infinite  Mind,  he  knew  nothing 
but  contentment.  When  man  began  to  wonder  he  looked 
outside  of  himself  for  the  sweet  assurance  of  the  ever- 
present  Father-Mother,  and  as  little  by  little  he  looked 
away,  his  mind  did  not  reflect,  the  clearness  of  the  Infinite 
Mind.  This  continued  until  man  had  reached  the  place 
where  the  mist  arose,  and  in  this  mist  he  lost  his  way; 
and  we  next  find  him  in  the  Garden  of  Eden  state  of 
mind,  which  is  the  first  recognition  the  carnal  man  can 
receive  of  man  after  leaving  the  Paradisaical  state.  Man, 
discerning  the  Tree  in  the  midst  of  the  garden,  decided  to 
partake  of  its  fruit,  even  though  wisdom  had  forbidden 
him  to  do  so.  Why  did  wisdom  thus  reveal  itself  to 
them  ?  Because  the  Father  knew  that  when  they  partook 
of  that  fruit,  it  would  cause  the  mist  to  become  more 
dense  in  their  mind  and  it  would  portend  a  long  night 
for  them  ere  they  found  the  clear  Light,  within  and  with- 
out, to  dispel  the  mist  from  the  mind,  and  the  confusion 
which  arose  in  the  mists,  and  the  out-picturing  on  the 
body  of  the  mistakes  which  have  taken  place  while  in  the 


152  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

mists,  which,  sometimes  hecome  so  thick  that  they  form  a 
dense  fog  and  the  eye  of  the  outer  man  cannot  see  the 
way. 

The  Lord  God's  creation  is  formed  by  the  mind  of  man 
after  it  has  lost  the  clear  consciousness  of  the  Bliss  of 
Paradise.  This  mind  has  a  much  lower  rate  of  vibration 
and,  as  it  continues  to  look  outward,  the  vibrations  be- 
come lower  and  slower,  until  we  see  what  is  recognized 
as  the  material  world  and  man  encased  in  a  seeming  ma- 
terial body. 

The  mind  of  man  has  been  creating  continually  since  it 
became  active,  in  that  seeming  long  ago  in  Paradise,  from 
which  state  of  consciousness  all  men  stray  and  to  which 
all  will  return  some  time,  somewhere;  thus  it  will  be, 
because  Infinite  Love  has  decreed  it  shall  be  so. 

Infinite  Love,  Aum,  will  not  permit  one  of  His  mani- 
festations to  become  forever  lost.  Infinite  Love  broods 
over  all,  and  none  can  stray  from  His  Love  and  Care. 
Man,  through  his  own  efforts,  caused  the  change  to  come 
into  his  mind  which  has  brought  about  the  conditions 
where  it  became  necessary  for  man  to  * '  till  the  ground ' ' 
for  livelihood  and  woman  ''to  bring  forth  children  in 
pain  and  sorrow. ' ' 

In  that  state  of  mind,  where  it  is  recorded  in  the  alle- 
gory in  Genesis,  that  the  man  and  woman  were  cast  from 
the  Garden  of  Eden,  they  were  in  consciousness  far  from 
God.  As  long  as  they  were  conscious  of  their  nearness  to 
Him  they  were  content  and  there  was  no  necessity  for 
them  to  labor,  because  the  Infinite  was  their  source  of 
supply  and  they  were  sustained  by  the  ever-present 
Aum, — the  Father-Mother-God. 

Soon  after  they  were  far  enough  from  God  in  con- 
sciousness to  be  removed  from  the  Garden  of  Eden,  we 
find  selfishness  coming  into  expression,  being  a  creation 
formed  in  the  confusion  of  the  mists  which  occupy  the 
mind  of  all  men  after  they  have  passed  out  from  the  Gar- 
den of  Eden,  which  is  the  exit  from  Paradise  and  the 
entrance  to  this  present  plane. 


EXCLUSIVENESS  153 

As  selfishness  expanded  in  man's  mind,  we  read  that 
murder  was  committed.  This  mind  which  had  become 
filled  with  mist  and  confusion  thought  little  of  others, 
but  was  centered  in  the  selfish  nature  of  the  world-man. 
In  this  state  he  was  banished  from  that  land,  and,  in 
another  part  of  the  country,  he  found  people  who  corre- 
sponded to  his  state  of  consciousness ;  and  there  he  knew 
his  wife  and,  according  to  the  allegory,  the  creation  of 
the  men  of  earth  came. 

The  selfishness  and  unkindness  which  had  formed  in 
man's  mind  slew  the  representative  of  the  Higher  Self, 
Truth,  but  later  the  same  mother  gave  birth  to  a  son 
which  lived  to  represent  the  higher  side  of  man,  because 
here  it  seems  that  man  is  distinctly  two  beings  in  one 
when  the  low  vibrations  of  the  mind  control.  This  con- 
tinues in  each  individual  until  each  awakens  from  the 
deep  sleep  which  overtakes  men  as  their  vibrations  be- 
come lower  and  slower.  When  they  awaken  they  hear 
the  voice  of  the  Father  calling, ' '  Adam,  where  art  thou  ? ' ' 
This  question  directed  to  the  individual  causes  him  to 
begin  to  examine  himself  and,  while  he  is  so  doing,  the 
overshadowing  Love  of  the  Father  causes  the  Light  with- 
in him  to  begin  to  burst  forth.  This  is  his  turning  point. 
He  has  traveled  thus  far  upon  the  path  which  lies  in  the 
mist,  and  all  men  who  travel  thereon  have  the  confused 
state  of  mind  which  is  formed  in  the  mist,  and  no  man 
knoweth  the  way,  neither  remembers  from  whence  he 
came,  because  he  has  become  hypnotized  by  the  strength 
and  arrogance  of  this  mind  which  is  now  only  the  self- 
will  of  man. 

Man  remains  in  this  state  until  he  grows  weary  and 
perceives  within  himself  that  the  life  upon  the  earth-path 
is  only  an  ever-seeking  to  follow  the  will-o'-the-wisp 
whose  pleasures  and  enchantments,  however  alluring,  are 
illusive.  Then,  when  he  hears  the  "Still  Small  Voice" 
and  listens,  he  has  come  to  the  extreme  point  on  the  Path 
for  him ;  then  he  will  face  about  and  retrace  his  footsteps 
and  some  day  stand  consciously  again  in  the  presence  of 


154  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

the  Father.  Then  he  will  perceive  his  True  Self,  which 
is  the  *' Image  and  Likeness  of  God/'  and  the  dominion 
with  which  -God  endued  him,  but  which  he  had  forgotten 
while  in  the  mist. 

Man  does  not  necessarily  require  length  of  time  to  be- 
come de-hypnotized  and  illumined  concerning  the  Truth 
of  his  Being ;  nor  does  he  need  to  travel  far.  Jesus  said 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at  hand. 

The  Truth  of  Being  remains  unchangeable  and  fixed 
and  man  dwells  in  the  Exclusiveness  of  God,  always,  and 
is  not  touched  or  harmed  by  the  experiences  upon  the 
earth  path  which  leads  through  the  mist,  even  as  the  dia- 
mond, when  it  is  raised  from  the  earth  and  polished,  is 
not  blurred  by  its  experience  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth. 
Man  knows  this  about  the  diamond  and  God  knows  this 
about  man;  and,  some  time,  man  will  know  this  clearly 
concerning  himself. 

After  man  has  permitted  the  low  and  slow  vibrations 
to  enter  his  mind  and  is  required  thereby  to  pass  out 
from  the  Garden  of  Eden,  he  makes  many  mistakes,  so 
many,  indeed,  that  a  fabric  has  been  formed  in  the  carnal 
mind,  called  evil,  which  seems  ever  present  and  most 
powerful;  and  thus  it  is  to  each  man  as  long  as  he  be- 
lieves in  its  reality  and  does  not  understand  from  whence 
it  came  and  by  whom  created. 

Men  under  the  dominance  of  that  belief  do  evil  things, 
or  things  which  this  state  of  mind  calls  evil.  However, 
they  are  only  mistakes.  The  mind  which  believes  in  the 
reality  of  evil  believes  also  in  meeting  out  severe  punish- 
ment to  the  evildoer,  to  the  one  who  makes  the  mistakes ; 
this  is  the  state  of  mind  to  which  Moses  gave  the  law, 
'*An  eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth,*' — ''But 
grace  and  Truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ. ' ' 

The  Christ,  which  is  the  impersonal  Son  of  the  Imper- 
sonal God,  has  the  Light  of  Truth,  and  man  who  has 
touched  the  Christ-Concsiousness,  is  passing  out  from  the 
mist  and  his  Path  becomes  overshadowed  with  sunlight 
and  Love,  and  these  find  response  within  him;  and  we 


EXCLUSIVENESS  155 

see  the  pattern-man,  Jesus  Christ,  an  Elder  Brother, 
showing  compassion  to  those  whom  the  law  called  sin- 
ners. He  said,  '  *  Go,  sin  no  more,  lest  a  worst  thing  come 
upon  you."  He  healed  the  sick,  fed  the  hungry,  ex- 
plained the  Truth  to  the  poor  and  raised  the  dead, — 
both  the  seeming  dead  in  body  and  the  dead  in  trespasses 
and  sin. 

Every  thought,  word,  act  and  deed  of  man  is  a  cause 
which  sets  in  action  a  law,  in  which  cause  and  effect 
follow  in  unbroken  accuracy;  and  man  must  reap  what 
he  has  sown.  God  did  not  cause  this.  Man  is  the  creator 
here  in  the  mist  life  and  man  will  sow  and  reap  until  he 
learns  the  Truth.  Then  he  will  forever  step  aside  from 
the  mist  and  its  laws.  Man  may  dwell  for  ages  or  aeons 
in  this  earth-mist  and  confusions  if  he  so  desires,  and 
continue  to  move  on  the  wheel  known  as  birth  and  death. 
It  will  cause  him  no  gain,  though  he  dwell  thus  in  the  law 
of  Cause  and  Effect  for  ages ;  as  all  that  is  of  any  impor- 
tance to  him,  when  once  he  has  passed  from  the  Garden 
of  Eden  or  the  Paradisaical  consciousness  is  to  awaken 
and  learn  the  Truth.  Jesus,  our  pattern-man  and  Elder 
Brother,  said,  **Ye  shall  know  the  Truth,  and  the  Truth 
shall  make  you  free."  There  is  no  other  way !  None  can 
climb  up  by  another  path,  nor  enter  through  some  other 
door.  It  is  knowing  the  Truth  unto  Realization  which 
sets  free.  Free  from  what  ?  From  the  confused  state  of 
mind  which  holds  man  bound  in  strong  chains  to  the 
carnal  path. 

"What  does  man  find  upon  the  carnal  path?  Fear, 
doubt,  superstition,  selfishness,  mistrust  of  his  fellow- 
man,  disease,  pain,  sorrow,  poverty  and  death.  Does 
man  welcome  these  guests  ?  He  does  not.  Why  does  he 
not  ?  Because  they  are  impositions  and  the  divinity  with- 
in him,  knowing  the  Truth  of  his  being,  endeavors  to 
reveal  to  him  this  Truth.  A  man  of  low  estate  finds 
down  deep  within  him  that  there  is  something  which 
causes  him  to  secretly  feel  he  is  equal  with  all  men.  This 
is  that  Real  Self,  trying  to  lead  him  to  the  Light  of  his 


156  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Being.  Even  though  man  has  forgotten  his  former  estate 
by  straying  far  into  the  forest  of  carnality  and  believing 
the  illusions  therein  are  true,  yet  there  is  that  within  him 
which  knows  different  and  which  will  some  time  cause 
him  to  awaken  and  retrace  his  steps. 

This  is  the  man  who  has  come  into  the  creation  of  the 
Lord  God.  Jesus  Christ  represents  the  man  who  has 
passed  over  the  Path  which  winds  through  the  forest 
and  mist  of  earth,  called  carnality,  and  has  heard  the 
call  of  the  "Still  Small  Voice"  and  heeded  it,  faced 
about  and  sought  until  he  has  found  the  way  out  from 
the  forest  and  learned  the  Truth  concerning  God,  the 
Universe  and  Man,  and  set  about  to  bring  into  manifes- 
tation the  perfect  man  whom  God  created.  Jesus  has 
accomplished  the  task  and  stands  forth  the  Glorified  Son 
of  the  Living  God. 

When  man  has  heard  the  ''Still  Small  Voice"  of  the 
Infinite  sufficiently  clear  to  awaken  him  he  will  turn 
about.  He  then  finds  that  his  task  is  to  bring  the  ' '  image 
and  likeness  of  God,"  which  he  is,  into  manifestation  in 
his  outer  mind  and  body. 

The  physical  man,  as  we  see  him,  is  not  the  man, 
although  he  may  so  believe.  He  has  no  power,  only  that 
which  is  reflected  from  the  Real  Man,  who  is  the  Divine 
Man.  The  physical  man  is  the  earth,  which  God  com- 
manded the  man  whom  He  created  in  ''His  image  and 
likeness"  to  subdue.  The  mind  of  God,  being  individ- 
ualized in  man,  God  gave  man  dominion  over  all  which 
may  come  into  this  earth  from  the  carnal  man  and 
mind, — the  fish  in  the  sea,  the  fowls  in  the  air,  the  beasts 
of  the  fields,  which  represent  the  thoughts,  desires  and 
beliefs  of  the  carnal  mind.  God  gave  man  at  creation 
dominion  over  these  and  commanded  man  to  subdue 
them.  "When  man  has  subdued  the  earth, — his  physical 
body, — and  stands  master  over  the  carnal  mind's  beliefs, 
fears  and  doubts,  he  will  have  come  into  the  Christ- 
Consciousness  and  know  that  he  is  a  son  of  God  and  can 
understandingly  proclaim  it. 


EXCLUSIVENESS  157 

Man,  at  the  desire  of  the  Father-Mother-God,  stepped 
forth  from  the  Infinite  womb,  an  individualized  manifes- 
tation of  the  Living  God, — an  individualized  Being, — 
and  abides  forever  and  aye  in  the  center  of  Aum,  the 
Living  God. 

Man,  through  the  workings  of  his  own  mind,  permit- 
ted himself  to  become  confused  by  the  fish,  fowls  and 
beasts  which  infest  his  mind,  and  by  the  shadows  these 
cast  upon  his  form  until  he  sees  ''as  through  a  glass 
darkly"  and  believes  his  body  physical  and  his  mind 
carnal,  and  that  he  is  subject  to  the  carnal  laws  which 
govern  these. 

As  it  is  the  work  of  the  individual  that  causes  him  to 
wander  into  the  forest  of  carnality  and  linger  upon 
its  path,  so  it  is  through  the  efforts  of  the  individual  that 
he  becomes  freed  from  the  illusions  which  cause  carnality 
and  its  forest,  through  which  his  path  winds. 

Can  man  accomplish  this  alone?  No!  While  it  is 
man's  own  work,  he  requires  assistance,  and  he  can  call, 
when  he  learns  how  to  do  so,  much  assistance  to  him 
which  will  enlighten  his  mind,  awaken  his  subconscious- 
ness and  cause  the  vibration  of  his  body  to  rise  until  it 
shakes  out  the  physical  pattern  and  reveals  the  Real 
Man,  whose  form  is  pure  Spirit-Substance-Essence. 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  pattern.  His  teachings  explain  to 
man  the  way.  He  said,  ' '  I  will  be  with  you  all  the  way, 
if  you  call  upon  me.''  He  also  said,  *'Ask  anything  in 
my  name  and  it  will  be  done. ' ' 

Through  the  Teachings  of  our  Elder  Brother  we  learn 
that  the  Father  and  His  angels  assist  man. 

In  the  teachings  of  Jesus  we  learn  how  to  approach 
the  Father.  Until  man  is  sufficiently  aroused  from  the 
Adam  Sleep  to  sincerely  desire  to  know,  he  will  move 
slowly.  When  man  becomes  awakened  and  is  in  earnest, 
Jesus  says  to  him,  * '  Seek  ye  first  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven, 
and  all  things  shall  be  added  unto  thee, ' '  and,  ' '  Go,  sell 
all  thou  hast,  take  up  thy  cross  and  follow  me. ' ' 


158  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

God  is  Exclusiveness,  and  none  can  stray  beyond  His 
Love  and  Care.  Man,  thou  individualized  manifestation 
of  God,  stop !  and  take  a  survey  of  yourself  and  see  where 
you  stand  in  consciousness.  It  is  the  consciousness  which 
counts,  as  man  lives  in  the  state  of  which  he  is  conscious. 

Though  man  in  the  truth  of  his  being  is  living  in  the 
very  center  of  God  (and  God  being  Exclusiveness,  noth- 
ing other  than  He  can  abide  there),  yet  man,  having  lost 
consciousness  of  this  Truth,  is  only  conscious  of  the  fact 
of  the  seeming  real  experiences  around  him.  He  sees, 
lives  and  enjoys,  or  suffers,  according  to  the  concept  of 
himself  and  his  surroundings,  as  when  three  men  walk- 
ing together,  each  wearing  different  colored  glasses,  the 
one  wearing  red  glasses  sees  all  things  red ;  the  one  wear- 
ing green  ones  sees  all  things  green,  and  the  one  wearing 
blue  glasses  sees  himself  and  his  world  to  be  blue ;  though 
the  world  in  which  they  live  is  in  no  way  changed  or 
affected  by  the  different  concepts  of  the  individuals  see- 
ing and  thinking  differently.  It  remains,  therefore,  that 
man,  each  one  individually  and  alone,  will  for  himself 
(and  here  and  now  are  the  place  and  time)  see  God  as 
He  is,  and  the  Universe  expressing  its  Perfection  and 
Beauty  just  as  it  came  into  expression  at  creation  with 
man,  ** God's  crowning  glory,''  forever  the  perfect  ex- 
pression of  the  Perfect  God,  Aum. 

Saints,  Sages  and  Saviours  the  world  has  had;  each 
one  of  these  an  individual  and  expressing  his  concept  of 
the  Great  Truth  of  God,  Man  and  the  Universe,  accord- 
ing to  his  conscious  understanding  of  it.  Jesus  Christ 
had  arrived  at  the  clear  consciousness  of  His  Being  and 
His  At-One-ment  with  the  Father  and  the  One-ness  of 
Life.  He  said,  ''I  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  me." 
He  also  said,  speaking  to  His  disciples,  ''I  in  thee  and 
thou  in  me."  The  disciples  in  that  case  represent  all 
student-devotees  of  Truth.  This  clear  Truth  cannot  be 
spoken  into  deaf  ears,  but  to  the  disciples  of  Truth,  to 
those  who  have  heard  the  call  of  the  '  *  Still  Small  Voice ' ' 


EXCLUSIVENESS  159 

and  awakened  sufficiently  to  seek  and  learn  the  way. 
Jesus  Christ,  speaking  from  the  Christ  within  Him,  said, 
''I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth  and  the  Light/' 

What  Jesus  Christ  is  all  men  are  as  the  manifestation 
of  God,  the  difference  being  in  the  concept  of  themselves. 
Jesus  had  arrived  at  the  point  where  full  consciousness  of 
the  Truth  of  Being  expressed  in  and  through  Him.  He 
said,  ^'The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  within  you.**  The 
state  of  consciousness  within  man  expresses  in  his  body 
and  in  his  world.  When  man  is  fully  conscious  of  him- 
self as  he  is  and  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  within  him,  and 
also  knows  that  God  forever  dwells  in  His  Kingdom,  he 
will  see  that  heaven  surrounds  him.  Man  can  live  in 
this  conscious  realization  now  and  here.  Travel  as  far 
as  man  may  upon  the  path  of  carnality,  which  winds  its 
way  through  the  forest,  he  remains  in  the  same  place, 
which  is  the  center  of  God,  and  he  is  filled,  surrounded 
and  overshadowed  with  the  Love  which  is  God. 

There  is  only  one  Mind,  the  Infinite ;  there  is  only  one 
Life,  God's;  there  is  only  one  Light,  that  which  IS; 
there  is  only  one  Power,  the  power  which  is  Aum ;  there 
is  only  one  Presence,  the  presence  of  the  Living  God, 
Aum,  the  first  and  only  cause,  the  Impersonal  Being, 
which  was  and  forever  is,  and  whose  dwelling  place  is 
Eternity. 

All  men  are  the  individualized  manifestations  of  this 
Being.  They  are  this  Being  expressed,  and  they  live  and 
have  their  being  in  Him.  There  is  none  beside  Him! 
Thus  we  see  that  "there  is  only  one  Being."  There  is 
one  breath,  the  *'Holy  Breath,"  which  breathes  all  liv- 
ing things.  All  space  is  breathed  by  the  breath  of  God, 
and  all  forms  therein. 

The  breath  of  the  Infinite  joins  the  seeming  divisions 
of  man's  being  together.  Man  is  seemingly  divided  into 
Mind,  Soul,  Form  or  Spirit,  and  the  Breath  of  the  In- 
finite breathes  these,  joining  them  into  a  complete  whole, 
into  man  individualized. 


160  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

The  Breath  of  the  Infinite,  breathing  all  living  forms, 
holds  them  in  one  completeness;  no  division,  no  separa- 
tion.   The  exclusiveness  of  God  can  therefore  be  seen. 

In  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  where  inspired  men  in 
and  through  the  allegory  there,  and  in  the  second  chapter 
also,  endeavored  to  reveal  to  mankind  the  truth  of  man's 
Being  and  the  facts  concerning  the  seeming,  as  best  they 
could  (as  it  is  difficult,  indeed,  to  reveal  the  inner  or 
esoteric  to  man  who  is  living  in  the  surface  of  things, 
the  world  and  himself),  let  us  catch  a  glimpse  of  man 
as  God  created  him  and  the  Universe  in  which  he  abides, 
and  remember  that  God  pronounced  the  creation  good. 

We  read  the  different  books  in  the  Bible  concerning 
God  and  man,  each  written  by  men  who  had  gleaned  the 
Light  and  expressed  according  to  their  own  concept. 
The  historical  parts  show  the  ongoing  of  the  people ;  but 
behind  this  stands  the  esoteric,  which  is  to  the  individual 
that  he  may  bring  this  individuality  into  expression. 

After  creation  has  been  portrayed,  a  period  of  years 
passed  and  we  find  the  world  filled  with  people  who  had 
strayed  far  from  the  Infinite  in  consciousness.  Then 
Infinite  Love  caused  a  Soul,  who  was  enough  awakened 
in  the  consciousness  of  his  True  Being,  to  take  birth. 

*  *  And  Lamech  lived  an  hundred  eighty  and  two  years, 
and  begot  a  son." — Gen.  5:28. 

''And  he  called  his  name  Noah,  saying,  This  man  shall 
comfort  us  concerning  our  work  and  toil  of  our  hands, 
because  of  the  ground  which  the  Lord  hath  cursed.'* — 
Gen.  5:29. 

''And  Noah  begat  three  sons,  Shem,  Ham,  and  Japh- 
eth."— 6?e^.  6:10. 

' '  The  earth  also  was  corrupt  before  God,  and  the  earth 
was  filled  with  violence." — Gen.  6:11. 

"And  God  said  unto  Noah,  The  end  of  all  flesh  is  come 
before  me;  for  the  earth  is  filled  with  violence  through 
them ;  and,  behold,  I  will  destroy  them  with  the  earth." — 
Gen.6:13 . 


EXCLUSIVENESS  161 

Then  we  read  the  account  of  the  flood  and  of  Noah,  his 
wife,  his  three  sons  and  their  wives  being  saved.  Then 
we  read  the  record  of  Moses  being  born,  of  his  super- 
natural protection  in  infancy  and  his  bringing  up  in  the 
Palace  of  the  King  of  Egypt,  and  then,  through  lack  of 
understanding,  compelled  to  flee  from  Egypt  and  dwell 
in  a  strange  land  until  he  had  surrendered  sufficiently  his 
carnal  mind,  his  self-will,  to  receive  the  guidance  of  the 
Infinite,  "Who  appeared  to  Moses  in  the  form  of  fire  in 
the  bush." 

When  Moses  turned  aside  to  examine  the  fire,  as  it 
burned  yet  did  not  consume  the  bush,  he  heard  the  Voice 
of  the  Father,  which  said,  '  ^  Take  thy  shoes  from  off  thy 
feet,  for  the  place  whereon  thou  standeth  is  Holy 
ground. ' '  Then  Moses,  in  the  direct  guidance  of  the  In- 
finite, led  the  Children  of  Israel  out  from  bondage  in 
Egypt.  Their  destination  was  the  Promised  Land.  Then 
we  find  the  account  of  the  shepherd  boy,  David,  being 
inspired  by  the  Infinite,  when  with  a  small  stone  and  a 
sling  he  killed  Goliath,  the  giant,  who  was  causing  much 
alarm  among  the  people;  then  of  David  becoming  King 
and  leading  the  people.  In  his  life  we  see  both  states  of 
consciousness  expressed.  We  read  the  account  of  his 
doing  things  which  the  Divine  Man  would  not  do.  Then 
we  also  have  his  beautiful  Psalms,  which  flowed  from  his 
pen  in  his  exalted  moments  when  he  was  conscious  of 
the  Omnipresence  of  God  and  vibrated  therewith.  King 
David  was  permitted  to  know  the  Great  Temple  was  to 
be  built,  but  his  son.  King  Solomon,  built  it.  Solomon 
had  received  wisdom,  because  he  asked  for  it.  His  mo- 
tive being  unselfish,  he  received  wisdom  from  the  Father, 
and  is  called  the  wisest  man. 

The  Hebrew  children  came  to  the  border  of  Canaan, 
the  Promised  Land,  under  Moses'  leadership.  There 
Moses  was  removed  from  them,  as  they  must  now  enter 
and  inhabit  it  for  themselves.  Moses  had  been  leading 
and  teaching  them  for  forty  years,  which  is  symbolical 
of  man  passing  through  the  earth-experiences. 


162  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

The  land  of  Canaan  signifies  man^s  redeemed  state, 
which  Jesus  Christ  came  to  bring  into  expression,  and 
to  teach  the  Law  which,  if  understood  and  lived,  will 
bring  each  man  to  the  pinnacle  where  He  stood  after  He 
had  arisen  from  the  tomb  and  proven  to  the  disciples 
of  Truth  at  that  time  and  in  all  ages,  that  He  had  mas- 
tered death,  the  greatest  foe  to  mankind,  and  then  arose 
and  ascended  above  their  material  sight. 

Noah  represents  the  immortal  man,  "Created  in  God's 
image  and  likeness,''  who  is  never  touched,  harmed  nor 
confused  in  the  midst  of  the  destruction  of  matter. 

Noah  had  three  sons.  These  in  the  esoteric  represent 
Mind,  Soul,  Spirit.  Behind  the  historical  record  in  the 
Bible  we  see  the  onward  steps  of  the  individual.  In 
this,  there  is  no  contradiction ;  nor  can  there  be,  because 
this  is  written  with  the  finger  of  God. 

In  the  infancy  and  life  of  Moses  is  clearly  shown  the 
care,  guidance,  power,  wisdom  and  strength  of  the 
Father,  when  He  raises  a  Soul,  who  has  a  degree  of 
conscious  Light,  to  lead,  guide,  teach  and  bless  those  who 
have  a  lesser  degree. 

Infinite  Love  causes  all  things  to  work  together  for 
good,  so  that  all  men  will  some  time  arrive  at  Home, 
from  whence  they  came  when  they  began  to  wonder 
how  it  would  be  if  away  from  Perfect  Bliss;  and  the 
wonder  grew  until  it  became  desire ;  and  desire  guiding, 
man  stepped  into  the  Garden  of  Eden,  which  represents 
the  highest  state  of  consciousness  the  men  of  earth  can 
conceive;  then  into  a  lower  rate  of  vibration,  until  he 
passed  from  the  garden  and  began  his  experiences  in 
the  earth's  school. 

Jesus  said,  ''Flesh  and  blood  cannot  enter  the  king- 
dom of  heaven."  He  also  said,  "I  go  to  prepare  a  place 
for  you,  that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also." 

When  man  attains  the  fullness  of  the  Christ-Mind 
which  was  and  is  in  Jesus  Christ,  his  surroundings  cor- 
respond thereto;  and,  as  mankind  one  by  one  attains 
that  same  degree,  each  will  be  entitled  to  be  with  Him. 


EXCLUSIVENESS  163 

In  the  Christ-Consciousness,  man  understands  the  ex- 
clusiveness  which  is  God.  When  man's  intellect  first 
learns  this  great  Truth,  it  has  much  work  to  do  before 
the  mists  are  cleared  away  and  the  sun  shines  bright. 
Much  labor  is  required  by  the  Ego  before  the  mind  is 
freed  from  confusion  and  false  beliefs.  Much  faith  is 
at  first  required  to  enable  the  intellect  to  trust  in  the 
invisible  presence,  in  which  it  may  believe,  but  of  which 
it  has  no  evidence.  The  intellect  grasps  a  comprehen- 
sion of  the  AU-ness  of  God  and  the  ever-presence  there- 
of;  but  it  requires  the  heart  to  recognize,  feel  and  re- 
spond to  the  Love,  guidance  and  care  of  the  Omni- 
present and  Omnipotent  One, — God. 

The  intellect  represents  the  positive  and  the  heart  the 
negative  part  of  each  individual. 

As  long  as  man  lives  in  an  intellectual  concept  of  the 
great  Truth  as  portrayed  herein,  he  is  cold  and  unap- 
proachable; but"  when  the  heart,  the  Spiritual  center 
of  his  being,  is  touched  and  quickened  into  conscious- 
ness, his  compassion  for  his  fellow  man  is  great  and 
tenderness  and  kindness  radiate  from  him  for  the  least 
and  the  greatest  of  God's  creation.  In  this  state  of 
conscious  understanding  man  is  far  on  his  return  jour- 
ney toward  Home,  the  destination  of  every  man.  None 
can  remain  forever  lost.  How  can  they?  When  God 
is  everywhere  present  and  it  is  only  their  concept,  which 
being  changed  from  a  lost  estate,  delivers  them  at  Home. 

No  man  can  glean  the  inner  or  hidden  manna  by 
studying  the  letter,  or  historical,  because  that  inner  is 
buried  deep  and,  to  find  it,  man  must  dig  deep  and 
clear  away  the  debris  of  earth  which  covers  it;  as  the 
ruins  of  a  city  must  be  cleared  before  the  city  can  rear 
its  proud  head,  clothed  in  beauty,  strength  and  loveli- 
ness. 

From  Genesis  to  Revelation,  there  is  an  unbroken 
golden  cord,  teaching  the  Truth  of  Being  to  men  to 
enable  the  individual  to  awaken,  find  his  way  and  leam 
how  to  retrace  his  steps. 


164  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

In  Revelation  we  find  the  man,  which  came  into  view 
in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis ;  and  Jesus  is  the  pattern. 

We  will  again  call  the  reader's  attention  to  the  Truth 
of  God  as  Exclusiveness,  ' '  In  Whom  there  is  no  shadow 
of  turning.''  If  man  clearly  perceives  this,  the  illusion 
of  sickness  will  fade  from  his  mind,  the  fear  of  death 
depart  and  the  belief  in  poverty  sink  into  insignifi- 
cance. All  space  is  filled  with  the  opulence  of  God, 
and  the  glory  of  God  abounds.  In  the  midst  of  con- 
scious Life,  there  can  be  no  death.  In  Harmony  there 
is  no  discord;  in  Love  there  is  no  hate;  in  Light  there 
is  no  darkness;  in  Power  there  is  no  weakness;  in  Joy 
there  is  no  sorrow.  God  is  Divine  Satisfaction.  None 
will  fear  unrest  and  discontent  when  they  have  come 
to  God,  as  a  little  child,  and  as  such  receive  the  bread 
from  heaven,  which  is  Divine  Satisfaction.  Then,  ' '  The 
lamb  and  lion  will  lie  down  together,  and  a  little  child 
shall  lead  them." 

"And  the  morning  and  the  evening  were  the  sixth 
day,  and  God  rested  on  the  seventh,  from  all  His 
works."  "As  above,  so  below."  As  in  the  allegory 
God  is  portrayed  as  resting  on  the  seventh  day  from 
all  His  works,  so  man,  when  he  reaches  the  seventh  day 
of  his  spiritual  unfoldment,  rests  from  all  his  works. 
'Tis  then  he  will  sit  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
Father  and  hear  the  welcome  words,  *  *  Well  done !  enter 
thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord."  Man  then  will  be 
clothed  in  his  redeemed  and  glorified  body,  which  is 
formed  of  pure  Spirit-substance,  which  is  the  Essence 
of  God  and  from  which  all  forms  are  made. 

The  Joy,  Ecstacy  and  Bliss  of  that  state  of  conscious- 
ness and  surroundings  cannot  be  expressed  in  language : 
tongue  fails.  The  mists  are  thick  and  the  dark  clouds 
hang  low  in  the  carnal  state;  but  the  warm  sunlight 
glows  in  the  spiritual  consciousness  and  one  feels  the 
distinction  which  cannot  be  described.  So  is  it  with 
the  different  states  of  the  consciousness  of  man. 


EXCLUSIVENESS  165 

God  is  Exclusiveness  and  ''Man  is  God's  image  and 
likeness*'  and  remains  forever  thus. 
All  glory,  to  the  Exclusiveness  of  God! 


CHAPTER  X 

ENLIGHTENMENT. 

GOD  is  Light.  He  is  that  ''Light  which  lighteth 
every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world."  When 
man  turns  the  eye  from  the  within  outward,  he 
seemingly  sees  division,  separations  and  distance.  In 
his  looking  outward,  he  sees  through  mental  haze. 
When  man  turns  his  mind  within,  he  will  there  discern 
the  One-ness  of  Life  and  the  Wholeness  of  God  and  will 
see  that  man  is  forever  hid  in  the  Heart  of  the  Infinite. 

Enlightenment  will  enable  man  to  again  turn  his 
mind  within  and  thereby  gain  poise,  peace  and  serenity. 
Enlightenment  is  the  one  and  only  thing  which  will 
enable  man  to  consciously  behold  the  Truth  of  Being 
and  live  in  that  consciousness. 

When  man  is  sound  asleep  he  is  in  darkness.  When 
he  becomes  enlightened  he  lives  in  the  Light  and  per- 
ceives the  Light  within  him  and  the  One-ness  of  Life 
which  cannot  be  broken  nor  disturbed  by  being  ex- 
pressed in  and  through  one  or  many  individualities. 

Man,  looking  outward,  sees  his  personality  which  has 
accumulated  around  his  Real  Self  as  he  has  walked 
down  the  centuries  since  passing  out  from  the  Garden 
of  Eden  and  believes  that  this  personality  is  the  man. 

In  man's  outer  concept  of  himself,  he  suffers,  fears, 
doubts  and  dies  and,  believes  he  must  till  the  ground 
to  gain  his  bread.  This  is  the  man  whom  the  Lord  God 
created,  the  man  who  is  living  in  and  governed  by  the 
laws  which  were  and  are  created  by  the  confused  mind 
of  man. 

166 


Enlightenment  167 

One  thought  permitted  to  form  in  the  mind  different 
from  the  blissful  state  of  Paradise  causes  a  cloud  to 
come  into  the  mind  and  it  casts  its  shadows  upon  the 
form,  which  is  composed  of  Spirit-Substance;  and  the 
body  begins  to  express  the  shadow  until  the  mind  is 
filled  with  the  carnal  belief  as  we  see  it  at  this  ending 
of  th-e  second  dispensation  of  this  cycle. 

What  do  we  find  which  will  assist  man  in  this  age  or 
any  other,  to  awaken  and  come  out  from  the  mists  and 
fogs  and  to  clear  his  mind  of  these?  Enlightenment  is 
the  word.  However,  it  is  necessary  to  glean  many  deep 
truths  therein  to  understandingly  receive  assistance. 

Man's  Soul  may  seem  to  be  sleeping  the  Ages  away. 
It  matters  not  as  long  as  it  sleeps;  but  there  will  come 
a  day  when  a  note  will  sound  so  deep,  strong  and  clear, 
that  he  will  become  sufficiently  aroused  to  hear,  and, 
when  he  is  awakened,  his  ear  will  catch  these  words: 
**Adam,  where  art  thou?"  These  are  the  first  words 
man  hears  when  he  awakens  from  the  carnal  sleep  (the 
dream  of  illusions), — these  words  which  are  applied 
direct  to  the  individual. 

"We  find,  when  man  hears  these  words,  that  he  will 
set  about  to  examine  himself  and  to  gain  his  bearing 
and  poise.  This  is  his  first  effort,  because  until  now  he 
has  been  asleep,  therefore,  knew  not  of  the  assistance 
which  is  ever  at  hand. 

Man  is  not  aware  of  anything  which  occurs  during 
his  sleep.  Man  knows  not  concerning  the  esoteric 
workings  of  Truth  while  his  Soul  seemingly  slumbers. 
The  Soul  is  ''Conscious  Life"  and  cannot  sleep  nor 
slumber:  therefore,  it  is  only  in  the  seeming  or  illusive 
dream  that  it  appears  as  if  the  Soul  slept. 

The  debris  of  false  illusions  must  be  removed  from 
the  mind  before  the  Soul  can  fully  express  its  conscious- 
ness through  mind  and  form.  When  this  is  accom- 
plished, man  is  enlightened. 

The  question  above  is,  "What  do  we  find  that  will 


168  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

assist  man  in  this  Age  or  any  other  to  awaken  and 
come  out  from  the  mist  and  fog  and  clear  his  mind  of 
these?"  Jesus  Christ  said,  ''Ye  shall  know  the  Truth 
and  the  Truth  shall  make  you  free."  Truth,  then,  is 
the  fabric  which  is  to  be  presented  to  man  after  he  has 
become  aroused  by  the  ''Still  Voice  of  God"  which 
speaks  to  every  man^s  Soul.  It  is  the  still,  soft  voice 
which  whispers,  "Adam,  where  art  thou?"  If  man  at 
that  moment  catches  the  gentle  sweetness  and  positive 
assurance  which  emanate  from  those  words,  he  will 
turn  at  once  to  their  Source  and  therefrom  seek  wisdom 
and  guidance.  Man,  by  thus  doing,  may,  peradventure, 
have  a  smooth  sea  for  his  bark  to  sail  over;  because  the 
Love  which  is  God  can  cause  the  billows  to  roll  away 
and  a  calm  and  serene  sea  to  surround  him.  Though 
he  may  find  on  land  steep  mountains  to  scale,  the  hand 
of  God  will  lead  him  and  Divine  Strength  will  sustain 
him. 

Man  cannot  travel  so  far  on  land  or  sea  that  God  is 
not  there;  and  by  his  side  the  Son  of  God  will  ever  be. 

Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth  reached  full  Enlightenment. 
He  proclaimed  himself  the  Son  of  God.  He  said,  "I 
stand  at  the  door  of  every  man's  heart  and  knock;  if 
he  will  open  and  bid  me,  I  will  enter  and  abide  with 
him." 

Thus  we  see,  that  when  man  awakens  sufficiently  to 
hear  the  Father's  "Still  Soft  Voice"  and  turns  to  its 
succor,  he  will  soon  learn  concerning  God's  Son.  Jesus 
Christ,  being  a  Conscious  Son  of  God,  assists  all  those 
who  call  to  the  Father  in  His  name,  as  long  as  they 
require  His  assistance,  and  this  will  be  for  every  devotee 
of  Truth  until  he  becomes  as  clearly  enlightened  as 
Jesus  was  and  understands  distinctly  that  he,  too,  is  a 
Son  of  God,  able  not  only  to  ' '  give  a  reason  for  the  hope 
that  is  within  him,"  but  to  do  as  Jesus  did,  prove  it. 
"By  their  works  ye  shall  know  them."  When  man 
touches,  even  the  hem  of  the  Christ  garment  (the  Christ- 


Enlightenment  169 

Consciousness)  it  is  no  longer  profession  with  him,  but 
actuality.  He  then  will  live  and  do  and  be  that  which 
he  knows  he  is, — the  Son  of  God. 

What  is  the  Son  of  God?  Christ.  What  is  Christ? 
The  manifestation  of  God.  Therefore  we  see,  Man  is 
God  made  manifest. 

Man  is  not  God  in  this :  Man,  is  God  made  manifest 
in  and  through  man.  Jesus  in  teaching  His  disciples 
concerning  this  said,  ''If  ye  had  known  me,  ye  should 
have  known  my  Father  also;  and  from  henceforth  ye 
know  Him  and  have  seen  Him.*' — St  John  14:7. 

''Jesus  saith  unto  him,  have  I  been  so  long  time  with 
you  and  yet  hast  thou  not  known  me,  Philip  ?  He  that 
hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father ;  and  how  sayest  thou 
then,  show  us  the  Father." — St.  John  14:9. 

"Believest  thou  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the 
Father  in  me?  The  words  that  I  speak  unto  you,  I 
speak  not  of  myself;  but  the  Father  that  dwelleth  in 
me.  He  doeth  the  works." — St.  John  14:10. 

Man  is  God  made  manifest, — an  individualized  ex- 
pression of  God,  Aum.  While  God, — Aum,  is  the 
Whole  and  there  is  none  beside  Him,  man,  the  individ- 
ualized manifestation  of  the  infinite,  "Lives,  moves  and 
has  his  being  in  God"  and  is  guided  by  Infinite  Intel- 
ligence and  God's  wisdom  is  revealed  to  him.  Man  of 
himself  can  do  nothing,  but  the  Father  that  dwelleth 
within  him  "He  doeth  the  works." 

Jesus  told  His  disciples  (and  they  represent  all  de- 
votees of  Truth  in  that  and  every  age)  "I  will  not 
leave  you  comfortless."  "I  will  send  the  Comforter, 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  He  will  teach  and  lead  you  into 
all  Truth. ' '  The  day  of  Pentecost  represents  the  day  to 
each  man  when  he  must  trust  in  God  alone.  As  Jesus,  the 
outer  staff  for  His  disciples,  had  departed  from  them 
they,  feeling  the  necessity  of  their  perfect  reliance  upon 
the  invisible  God  in  recognition  of  the  Father  and  their 
reliance  upon  Him,  were  "All  with  one  accord  in  one 


170  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

place,/ '  * '  and  suddenly  there  came  a  sound  from  Heaven 
as  of  a  rushing,  mighty  wind,  and  it  filled  all  the  house 
where  they  were  sitting.'*    Acts  2:2. 

''And  they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
began  to  speak  with  other  tongues,  as  the  Spirit  gave 
them  utterance.    Acts  2:4. 

''But  Peter,  standing  up  with  the  eleven,  lifted  up 
his  voice  and  said  unto  them,  'Ye  men  of  Judea  and  all 
ye  that  dwell  at  Jerusalem,  be  this  known  unto  you, 
and  harken  to  my  words:'  "    Acts  2:14. 

Then  we  see  that  Peter,  after  he  had  received  the  in- 
flux of  Divine  Power  from  God,  called  the  baptism  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  had  the  courage  to  proclaim  the  Truth 
in  the  presence  of  the  enemies  of  Truth  and  their  per- 
sonalities; and  this  in  the  face  of  the  fact  that  their 
faith  had  been  sorely  tried  by  seeing  Jesus  die  and  dis- 
appear from  them;  but  that  influx  of  divinity  which 
comes  forth  in  man  at  the  New  Birth  is  of  God,  and 
gave  courage  to  proclaim  the  Truth  and  strength  to  en- 
dure persecution  and  enable  the  disciples  to  flnish  the 
task  set  before  them. 

The  New  Birth  takes  place  when  man  has  reached 
the  border  line  of  enlightenment.  Then  he,  the  Spirit 
of  Truth,  "the  Comforter  within"  sent  from  God,  will 
teach  and  lead  the  new  born  into  all  Truth,  into  Enlight- 
enment. 

After  man  has  received  the  New  Birth,  he  comes  into 
the  Christ-Consciousness.  He  then  begins  to  recognize 
the  Truth  of  his  Being,  which  is,  that  he,  too,  is  a  Son 
of  the  Living  God,  and  that  Jesus  Christ  is  an  Elder 
Brother,  who  so  humbly  and  sweetly,  yet  positively  and 
grandly,  proclaimed  the  Truth,  which,  when  known, 
would  set  His  brothers  free;  who  also  passed  over  the 
Path  which  all  must  travel  and  blazed  the  way.  At 
every  critical  point  there  is  a  banner  bearing  the  knowl- 
edge necessary  at  that  particular  place. 

The  seeker  after  Truth  will,  therefore,  see  that  it  is 
wisdom  on  his  part,  should  he  arrive  at  an  undesirable 


Enlightenment  171 

condition  on  the  Path,  to  locate  himself  and  turn  to  the 
Master's  teachings  and  find  the  guidance  for  that  par- 
ticular place  and  read  and  study  its  message  until  he 
understands  how  Jesus  would  have  done  at  that  place. 

In  studying  the  teachings  of  the  enlightened  Jesus, 
we  find  that  He  prayed  much;  we  find  that  He  even 
tarried  all  night  in  prayer  on  the  mountains.  "We  also 
read  that  He  returned  thanks  to  the  Father.  **  These 
words  spake  Jesus,  and  lifted  up  His  eyes  to  heaven, 
and  said,  'Father,  the  hour  is  come;  glorify  Thy  son, 
that  Thy  Son  also  may  glorify  thee.'  '*    St.  John  17:1. 

"And  now,  0  Father,  glorify  thou  me  with  thy  own 
self  with  the  glory  which  I  had  with  Thee  before  the 
world  was."    St.  John  17:5. 

Communion  with  God  is  the  central  point  around 
which  revolves  all  lesser  details  in  man's  work  shop 
(his  mind  and  heart),  ''Alone  with  God,"  in  At-one- 
ment  with  God!  Man  may  know  of  his  at-one-ment 
with  God  in  theory,  but  it  will  not  become  a  reality  to 
him  until  he  has  come  to  the  New  Birth  and  entered 
into  the  Christ- Consciousness ;  and,  as  he  advances  in 
this  consciousness,  man  can  speak  as  Jesus  spake,  his 
words  being  filled  with  power.  When  man  is  fully  en- 
lightened, he  will  no  longer  use  the  prattle  of  a  babe, 
but  the  true  words  of  deep  understanding  and  of  a 
sound  mind,  and  in  the  freedom  of  the  Son  of  God. 

Enlightenment  means  Illumination,  full  and  com- 
plete. What  does  illumination  mean  ?  Conscious  under- 
standing. When  man  has  conscious  understanding,  he 
perceives  that  Light  within  him,  "which  is  the  Light 
that  lighteth  every  man  who  cometh  into  the  world." 
What  is  that  Light?  It  is  God;  and  man  reflects  this 
Light  according  to  his  Enlightenment. 

If  man  is  asleep,  as  those  who  live  in  the  jungles  of 
Africa,  he  reflects  very  little  light, — only  that  which  is 
expressed  in  natural  life,  and  to  a  small  degree  in  the 
mind.  These  same  people  can  through  awakening  both  in 
mind  and  Spirit  and  coming  into  the  understanding  of 


172  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

the  Truth  as  given  by  Jesus  Christ  reflect  the  Light  which 
is  God  in  such  clearness  and  power,  that  they  will 
eventually  radiate  it  and  move  along  the  path  and  be- 
come conscious  that  they  are  that  Light,  not  only  in 
Mind  and  Soul,  but  in  body  and  Spirit  also.  This  is 
the  same  place  upon  the  Path  where  Jesus  stood  when 
He  proclaimed  himself  a  Son  of  God  and  later  an- 
nounced His  At-One-Ment  with  the  Father.  He  said, 
"the  Father  and  I  are  one;  but  the  Father  is  greater 
than  I."  Jesus  had  reached  the  consciousness  of  His 
God-given  inheritance, — that  with  which  God  endued 
man  at  creation,  which  is  dominion  over  the  carnal  man, 
his  laws  and  beliefs ;  and,  when  man  is  emptied  of  these. 
Enlightenment  becomes  manifest  and  he  is  conscious 
of  his  inheritance,  because  he,  then,  knows  that  he  is 
a  Son  of  the  Ever-lasting,  and  Almighty  God;  and  that 
as  the  manifestation  of  God,  he  will  never  cease  to  be. 
It  requires  enlightenment  for  man  to  comprehend  this. 

Let  the  mind  view  the  black  man,  living  in  his  nat- 
ural, unawakened  state  in  the  jungle  of  Africa,  Then 
turn  the  mind  to  Jesus  Christ.  None  can  gainsay  the 
fact,  that  there  is  a  great  distance  between  them  in  the 
outer  appearance  of  themselves,  both  in  body  and  mind, 
and  in  their  surroundings  and  environments.  What 
causes  this  great  distance  between  them?  Enlighten- 
ment. How  do  we  know  this  to  be  true  ?  When  we  turn 
to  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  we  find,  "God  created 
man  in  His  image  and  likeness."  Note  this:  the  black 
man,  who  is  sound  asleep,  is  still  living  in  the  jungles, 
while  Jesus  Christ  lived  in  the  highest  state  of  civiliza- 
tion then  upon  the  earth ;  and  the  message  which  He 
gave  concerning  God,  The  Father,  the  Son,  Christ  and 
the  Universe  is  so  vital  that,  as  man  perceives  it,  it  leads 
the  individual  into  enlightenment  and  lifts  civilization 
continually  toward  perfection.  Thus  we  see,  when  the 
millennium  is  established  upon  earth,  of  which  we  are 
now  in  the  dawn,  that  the  sons  of  God,  those  who  have 
become  conscious,  will  live  in  the  midst  of  a  perfect 


Enlightenment  173 

civilization,  and  Christ  will  reign  supreme  and  Jesus 
Christ  will  be  the  King,  because  He,  a  conscious  Elder 
Son,  is  heir  to  the  outer  throne;  but  each  man,  also  is 
a  king  and  a  priest  unto  God;  and  their  heart  is  His 
throne  and  He  dwells  there  forevermore. 

The  glory  of  God,  Aum,  will  be  so  great  in  that  bright 
day,  that  none  but  the  enlightened  ones  can  abide  upon 
the  earth;  for,  lo,  it  is  become  heaven,  and  none  but 
the  pure  in  heart  and  illumined  in  mind  and  regen- 
erated in  body  will  be  able  to  dwell  here. 

God  is  Infinite  Love,  Peace,  Power  and  Intelligence; 
therefore,  He  has  a  place  prepared  for  all.  He,  being 
Omniscient  and  Omnipresent,  none  can  stray  from  his 
All-seeing  Eye,  neither  from  His  sweet  presence;  there- 
fore, it  can  be  clearly  perceived,  that  all  is  well  with  man, 
it  matters  not  where  he  may  be,  as,  of  a  surety  he  is  ever 
in  the  Presence  and  Care  of  Almighty  God. 

Man  has  caused  and  set  into  operation  the  law  ot 
Cause  and  Effect  and  he  moves  and  lives  in  the  place 
and  conditions  where  the  effects  of  the  cause  place  him, 
be  that  in  the  seventh  circle  of  the  seventh  sphere,  in 
the  heavens  above  mau's  present  concept  where  Jesus 
Christ  abides,  or  where  the  black  man  is  in  the  jungles 
of  Africa. 

Jesus  is  the  fully  enlightened  one,  yea,  so  fully  en- 
lightened is  He,  that  Jesus  is  merged  into  the  Christ. 
His  personality  was  absorbed  in  that  great  day  when 
He  ascended  above  their  view,  but  His  individuality 
stands,  the  resplendent  glory  of  God,  and  moves  in  the 
heaven  of  the  heavens;  and  His  Light,  Love  and  Glory 
is  so  great,  that  it  extends  to  earth  in  such  power  that 
one  and  all  who  call  unto  the  Father  in  His  name  are 
blessed  according  to  their  righteous  desires. 

Desire  is  prayer,  be  it  unexpressed  or  uttered.  How- 
ever, the  results  of  the  prayer  which  is  the  calm  spoken 
words,  be  it  silent  or  audible,  are  more  perceptible  in 
the  outer  manifestations. 


174  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Jesus  said,  '*Ask  what  ye  will,  in  my  name,  and  it 
shall  be  done/*  When  man  arrives  at  the  place  upon 
the  Christ-Path  where  he  reads  this  promise  of  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Redeemed  and  Conscious  Son  of  God,  he 
will  ask  for  health,  peace,  love,  happiness,  and  opulence. 
The  enlightened  man  voices  his  request  in  the  ear  of 
the  Omnipresent  God, — Our  Father-Mother. 

Jesus  Christ's  life  stands  out  strong  and  clear  in  the 
foreground  of  the  past  centuries  above  all  others  as  we 
read  the  recorded  history  of  mankind.  He  gave  the 
message  which,  when  understood,  will  enable  man  to 
step  from  the  jungles  of  ignorance  and  the  limitations 
of  environments  into  the  Enlightenment  of  Illumina- 
tion, which  will  enable  him  to  know  that  he  is  in  the 
boundless  freedom  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  forever  at-one 
with  God.  Jesus,  being  the  pattern-man.  His  life  from 
day  to  day  is  an  example  for  all  men  as  they  walk 
upon  the  Christ-Path. 

The  Illumination  of  Jesus,  that  perfect  understand- 
ing of  Himself  and  the  Father,  gave  Him  faith  so 
strong  that  it  wavered  not,  because  He  knew  His 
At-One-Ment  with  the  Father;  and,  day  by  day,  with 
faith  so  strong  it  was  sublime,  He  met  any  condition 
of  bondage  in  which  He  found  His  brothers  of  earth; 
in  fact.  He  met  and  mastered  in  the  different  peoples 
who  came  to  Him  for  succor  every  condition  of  bond- 
age to  which  the  children  of  men  are  heirs. 

We  find  in  the  historical  record  that  He  was  a  man 
who  lived  so  close  to  God  in  understanding,  that  He 
walked  and  talked  intimately  with  ''the  Father-Mother- 
God",  and  from  this  conscious  nearness  to  God,  we  see 
results  following  which  were  blessings  to  mankind. 
When  God  told  Him  to  go  to  a  place  or  do  a  thing,  His 
faith  was  strong  enough  in  God  to  enable  Him  to  do  so. 

We  find  Elijah  at  the  brook  Cherith,  being  fed  by 
the  ravens  and  drinking  the  water  of  the  babbling 
brook;  but,  lo !  as  the  drouth  continued,  the  water  in 
the  brook  began  to  respond  to  the  conditions  about  it 


Enlightenment  175 

and  the  brook  became  dry.  Elijah  remained  by  the 
brook-side,  and  no  doubt  his  thirst  was  severe,  yet 
God  did  not  speak  to  him.  Even  in  this  condition  and 
surrounded  by  the  drought  and  the  environments  of  a 
famine  he  moved  not,  until  God  spake  to  him  and 
directed  his  footsteps;  and  we  find  him  at  the  home  of 
the  widow  where  he,  through  prayer  to  God,  caused 
the  oil  to  run  until  all  the  vessels  which  the  widow 
brought  were  filled,  then  it  was  stayed  from  running; 
and  the  meal  grew  not  less  in  the  barrel,  although  Elijah, 
the  widow,  her  son  and  the  household  ate  therefrom 
until  the  end  of  the  famine.  He,  also,  revived  the 
widow  ^s  son  from  death  and  restored  him  to  the  mother 
alive.  What  enabled  Elijah  to  do  these  w^orks?  En- 
lightenment. We  also  read  that  Elijah  crossed  the  gulf 
between  the  living  and  so-called  dead,  or  the  visible  and 
invisible,  without  passing  through  the  appearance  called 
death.  What  enabled  him  to  do  this?  Enlightenment. 
The  record  reads,  "Elijah  was  caught  up  in  a  chariot 
of  fire,  and  they  saw  him  no  more." 

Some  may  ask  why  Jesus  is  greater  than  Elijah,  when 
he,  too,  overcame  the  last  and  greatest  enemy  to  man- 
kind,— death  ?  Elijah  in  the  grace  of  God  accomplished 
this  because  Infinite  Love  and  Intelligence  saw  best  to 
cause  this  to  come  about,  as  the  minds  of  men  needed 
something  in  that  age  to  encourage  and  strengthen  their 
hope  and  faith. 

Elijah  left  no  instructions  which  would  assist  man- 
kind to  do  as  he  did;  herein  lies  the  great  distance  be- 
tween him  and  Jesus.  Elijah  accomplished  his  beauti- 
ful task  through  Love  and  Trust  in  God  and  God 
blessed  him  for  his  faithfulness  by  assisting  him  to  soar 
so  high  that  he  did  not  even  touch  the  cold,  dark  river 
which  silently  winds  its  way  among  mankind.  Elijah 
did  this  through  faith  in  God  and  understanding,  while 
Jesus  Christ  accomplished  His  works  with  faith  in  God 
and  Himself  and  understanding  and  Enlightenment. 
Jesus  knew  His  At-one-ment  with  God;  therefore,  with 


176  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

His  clear  understanding  concerning  God,  Man,  the  Uni- 
verse and  the  Laws  governing  all.  He  could  teach  man- 
kind the  way  and  prove  the  truthfulness  of  His  mes- 
sage by  the  ''signs  following.''  He  taught  by  ''practice 
as  well  as  precept'*  the  greatness  of  the  Truth  of  Being 
and  the  One-ness  thereof. 

Thus  we  see  each  man  in  his  order  and  all  working 
together  for  the  great  good  of  the  whole.  It  is  Enlight- 
enment, which,  as  it  comes  into  the  minds  of  men,  indi- 
vidually and  collectively,  is  moving  the  human  family 
forward  in  a  general  way  toward  redemption  for  the 
individual  and  humanity.  Jesus  gave  the  message 
which,  when  understood  and  demonstrated,  as  He  under- 
stood and  demonstrated,  will  enable  every  man  who  be- 
comes enlightened  concerning  it  sufficiently  to  practice 
as  well  as  read  the  precepts,  to  do  as  He  did. 

What  did  Jesus  Christ  do  to  prove  the  truthfulness 
and  greatness  of  the  Truth  He  was  teaching  ?  He  healed 
the  sick.  We  read  that  "He  healed  all  manner  of  dis- 
eases." He  raised  the  dead.  Jesus,  standing  before 
the  tomb  of  Lazarus,  called,  "Lazarus,  come  forth!  and 
he  came,  bound  in  his  grave-cloths. ' '  The  esoteric  mean- 
ing of  Lazarus  being  bound  in  his  grave-cloths  when 
he  came  forth  signifies  man's  unchanged  condition  after 
he  has  passed  through  death.  In  other  words,  man  is 
not  assisted  or  benefited  in  any  way  by  passing  through 
the  event  called  death.  Neither  does  this  change  set  a 
seal  upon  man's  progression.  This  is  proven  by  Jesus 
during  His  absence  from  His  body  while  it  lay  in  the 
tomb.  Going  to  and  preaching  to  the  spirits  in  prison, 
Jesus  did  no  idle  thing,  as  that  would  be  impossible 
for  an  unenlightened  one ;  therefore,  we  can  receive  this 
as  evidence  proving  that  there  was  a  way  for  the  spirits 
there  in  prison  to  be  free;  and  evidently  it  is  by 
"Knowing  the  Truth"  there,  as  here.  We  remember 
Jesus  Christ's  announcement  to  the  world  is,  "Ye  shall 
know  the  Truth,  and  the  Truth  shall  make  you  free." 
Then,  if  man  is  not  changed  by  passing  through  death, 


Enlightenment  177 

enliglitenment  is  the  thing  necessary  in  the  hereafter 
as  well  as  in  the  now. 

It  is  well  to  remember  that  only  the  enlightened  one 
knows  that  the  past,  present  and  future  are  one.  It  re- 
quires insight,  clear  and  deep,  to  perceive  this;  yes,  so 
deep  that  Eternity  becomes  a  Reality  and  time  has  lost 
its  significance. 

The  world  of  the  black  man  in  the  jungle  is  small,  yet 
he  sees  separation  and  small  distances  when  he  has 
cleared  away  the  jungles  and,  as  he  walks  through  the 
forest  until  he  has  reached  the  great  plains  and  the 
oceans,  his  mind  expands  until  he  thinks  the  world  is 
large  indeed.  Each  object  is  separate  and  distinct  to 
him  and  he  has  made  advancement,  and  this  is  good, 
because  it  is  necessary ;  but  there  will  come  a  time  when 
he  reaches  the  right  place  upon  the  Path,  when,  through 
Enlightenment,  he  will  see  the  One-ness  of  the  Whole. 
He  then  will  know  that  the  Breath  of  God,  the  Holy 
Breath,  breathes  all  living  things  and  holds  them  in 
One-ness. 

''God  is  the  One!  but  He  became  manifest  through 
the  many.  No  man  should  scorn  another,  even  though 
he  be  an  enemy,  and  say.  Who  art  thou?  because  all 
men  are  God's  creation, — the  manifestation  of  the  Liv- 
ing God.  Therefore,  all  mankind  is  the  family  of  God 
and  heirs  to  the  same  inheritance.  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
highest  type  of  man  and  the  black  man  in  the  African 
jungles,  perhaps,  the  lowest;  but  all  will  some  time 
stand  forth  redeemed.  Redeemed  from  what?  From 
the  illusions  of  the  carnal  man.  Where  did  these  illu- 
sions originate?  In  the  mind  of  man.  As  his  mind  be- 
came befogged,  he,  through  confusion  in  his  mind,  was 
compelled  to  pass  out  from  the  Garden  of  Eden,  and, 
as  the  confusion  increased  in  his  mind,  he  has  moved 
on,  until  in  his  consciousness  he  has  passed  far  out  from 
God,  and  in  his  confusion  he  looks  far  away  to  ascer- 
tain the  place  where  God  dwells.  He  has  forgotten  the 
Truth  of  his  Being  and  that  God  dwells  within  each  and 


178  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

fills  all  space  about  him.  He  lives  in  the  mists  and 
confusions  in  his  mind  and  these  shape  his  course,  be 
he  in  the  African  jungles,  the  forest  of  India  or  the 
broad  plains  of  America,  until  he  becomes  enlightened. 
Just  a  ray  of  light  will  reveal  to  man  the  way  and,  if 
he  heeds  it,  the  light  will  become  brighter  until  he  has 
the  Light  sufficiently  to  enlighten  him  and,  when  he  has 
touched  the  Christly  robe  of  the  Christ-Consciousness, 
he  is  a  changed  man.  The  question  may  be  asked,  * '  How 
can  a  man  changed'  when,  in  preceding  chapters  we 
have  stated  Man,  ''the  image  and  ilkeness  of  God," 
does  not  change.  "We  answer,  the  man  who  changes  is 
not  the  image  and  likeness  of  God.  The  God-man,  he 
that  is  the  manifestation  of  God,  cannot  change. 

It  is  the  carnal  man  who  changes,  even  as  complete 
a  change  as  from  the  concept  of  the  black  man  in  the 
jungles  unto  the  Christ-concept  expressed  in  Jesus 
Christ. 

In  the  parable  that  Jesus  gave  about  the  man  whose 
field  was  planted  with  good  wheat,  but  when  the  serv- 
ant saw  the  wheat  growing  he  also  discovered  the  tares 
and  enquired  of  the  master,  if  he  should  go  out  and 
pull  up  the  tares,  the  wise  man  said,  ' '  No !  Lest  in  so 
doing  you  destroy  the  wheat  also."  He  said,  "let  them 
grow  side  by  side  until  the  harvest,"  then  the  tares  will 
be  burned  and  the  wheat  gathered  into  the  granaries; 
which  means  preserved. 

In  this,  which  is  one  of  the  deepest  of  Jesus'  parables, 
we  see  the  good  seed,  the  wheat,  was  planted  in  a  good 
field;  but  while  the  lord  of  the  field  slept  an  enemy 
came  and  sowed  tares;  but  the  all-wise  one  said,  ''Let 
them  grow  side  by  side  until  the  harvest ;  then  the  sepa- 
ration will  take  place." 

The  wheat  is  God's  man,  "Created  in  His  image  and 
likeness,"  and  the  tares  are  the  mists  and  confusions 
which  have  crept  into  the  mind,  until  they  have  formed 
the  carnal  or  confused  mind  and  these  outpicture  the 
physical  man.     The  Lord  said,  "let  them  grow  side  by 


Enlightenment  179 

side  until  the  harvest/^  The  harvest  is  the  time  of 
Enlightenment,  when  Truth  will  destroy  error,  Love 
annihilate  hate  and  strength  will  consume  weakness. 
These  errors,  which  are  the  result  of  confusion  in  the 
carnal  mind,  are  burned  with  the  fire  of  God,  which  is 
Truth  brought  into  action  concerning  them;  but  man, 
being  the  wheat,  "the  image  and  likeness  of  God,''  per- 
fect, and  cared  for.  Infinite  Love  has  a  granary  for  His 
wheat  of  man  to  rest  in.  Granary  signifies  a  place  of 
safety  and  sufficiency. 

Through  the  above  parable  we  can  discern  the  deep 
import  of  the  Master's  Teachings,  which  is,  that  no  man 
awakens  from  the  sound  sleep  of  the  Adam  dream  and 
passes  into  the  Christ-Consciousness  except  through  ex- 
periences which  have  been  severe  enough  to  cause  him 
to  turn  and  face  about  and  begin  his  search  for  Light. 
This  path  may  be  long,  rugged  and  steep,  or  shorter 
and  wind  through  green  fields  and  be  smooth  and  pleas- 
ant. It  depends  upon  man's  tenacity.  If  he  persist- 
ently endeavors  to  cling  to  carnality  and  the  pleasures 
therein  and  to  live  in  the  lusts  and  appetites  of  the 
carnal  man,  rough  his  path  may  be;  but  Light  will 
never  forsake  him;  and,  when  he  surrenders  his  self- 
will,  and,  like  St.  Paul,  endeavors,  ''to  die  daily,"  by 
the  assistance  of  God,  by  his  faith  therein  and  his  own 
endeavors,  he  will  become  enlightened;  and  Enlighten- 
ment is  the  fire  which  will  consume  every  tare  that  was 
planted  by  the  enemy,  ''the  carnal  mind,"  and  enable 
man  to  see  himself  as  God  has  forever  seen  him, — Per- 
fect. 

It  is  not  by  leaps  and  bounds  that  man  passes  onward 
upon  the  Christ-Path;  but  step  by  step;  inch  by  inch 
he  moves  forward. 

In  Holy  Writ  we  read,  "God  spake  to  one  of  His 
enlightened  ones  and  said,  'Be  still,  and  know  that  I 
AM  God.'  "  God  never  changes.  Then  it  is  well  for 
man  to  remember  that  God  once  said,  "Be  still,  and 
know  that  I  am  God." 


180  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

When  man  is  enlightened,  he  will  know  that  God  is 
"nearer  than  hands  and  feet/'  and,  that  his  mind  is 
God-mind  individualized,  his  breath  the  Breath  of  the 
Infinite.  "When  in  this  understanding  man  can  be  still 
and  know  that  he  is  "Hid  with  Christ  in  God,"  calm 
and  secure  he  then  will  feel,  as  a  ship  that  has  crossed 
the  stormy  sea  and  has  cast  anchor  in  the  home  port, 
all  memory  of  the  rough  voyage  consumed  by  the  joy 
of  being  safely  anchored  in  the  peaceful  harbor. 

Thus  it  is  with  the  fully  enlightened  one.  He  re- 
joices in  the  conscious  privilege  of  being  anchored  in 
the  calm  harbor  of  the  home  port.  Enlightenment  opens 
his  eyes  to  the  beauty  all  about  him,  in  land,  water, 
air  and  sky.  He  perceives  the  handiwork  of  God  every- 
where ;  and  his  heart,  being  vibrant  with  enlightenment, 
becomes  en  rapport  with  the  Heart  of  the  Infinite  and 
that  "Peace  which  passeth  material  understanding" 
abideth  within  him.  When  all  men  have  the  enlight- 
enment which  will  enable  them  to  abide  in  that  peaceful 
Peace  which  is  God,  the  earth  will  be  filled  with  the 
glory  of  God;  then  Isaiah's  prophecy  will  be  fulfilled 
and  "The  lamb  and  lion  will  lie  down  together,  and  a 
little  child  shall  lead  them." 

Innocency  and  purity  feareth  not!  and  Love  abides 
with  the  innocent  and  pure  and  binds  all  expressions  of 
the  Infinite  in  one  universal  Whole;  and  God  reigns; 
Love  is !  and  is  manifest  in  the  heart  of  all  living  things ; 
in  the  beautiful  flowers,  the  green  grass,  the  blue  sky, 
the  song  of  the  bird,  the  roar  of  the  sea,  the  murmur 
of  the  brook,  the  sound  of  the  breeze,  the  serenity  of 
the  moutnains  and  in  the  broad  and  fertile  plains, — 
all  the  handiwork  of  God  and  all  expressions  of  His 
Presence. 

Wonderful  God!  Also,  wonderful  man,  when  he  has 
reached  enlightenment  sufficiently  to  enable  him  to  see 
the  All-ness,  the  Greatness,  the  One-ness  and  the  Omni- 
presence of  God! 

Jesus  Christ  said,  "Be  of  good  cheer,  I  have  over- 


Enlightenment  181 

come  the  world.'*  He  also  said,  *' Follow  me/'  What 
did  Jesus  mean  by  overcoming  the  world?  God,  so  we 
read  in  the  first  of  Genesis,  endued  man  at  creation 
with  dominion  over  the  earth.  This  is  man's  own 
world, — his  carnal  mind  and  the  body  which  it  ex- 
presses, subject  to  all  the  ills  to  which  the  flesh  is  heir, — 
these  compose  the  world  which  man  is  to  overcome.  To 
follow  Jesus  would  be  to  do  likewise.  How  can  man  at 
the  present  time  overcome  the  world  and  follow  Jesus? 
Study  His  teachings,  imbibe  the  Spirit  of  them  and  do 
as  He;  meet  with  understanding  every  obstacle  which 
error,  or  the  adversary,  places  in  the  path  before  you; 
and  like  Jesus,  remember  it  is  the  Father  within  you 
who  doeth  the  work;  and  always  bear  in  mind  Jesus' 
example  of  praying  much;  and,  sometimes,  when  the 
clouds  seem  to  hang  low,  he  prayed  all  night.  The 
Christian's  tool  is  prayer.  It  may  at  first  be  the  prayer 
of  faith;  this  is  good  and  beautiful,  but  there  comes 
the  time  when  the  prayer  of  faith  and  understanding 
are  combined.  This  is  required  from  the  enlightened 
one. 

The  enlightened  ones  are  the  salt  of  the  earth,  but 
Jesus  said,  **if  the  salt  has  lost  its  saltness,  it  is  then 
to  be  cast  out."  From  this  hint  from  the  illumined 
Jesus,  we  perceive  that  it  behooves  each,  after  the  con- 
sciousness is  enlightened,  to  be  alert,  that  the  one  evil, 
the  adversary,  does  not  deceive  him  and  he  step  aside 
from  the  Path  to  rest  awhile  in  some  beautiful  garden 
fiilled  with  the  flowers  of  carnality.  Also  it  behooves 
all  to  remember  that  Wisdom  spoke  ages  ago  and  said, 
**in  the  latter  days  of  the  dispensation  the  devil  would 
cease  going  about  as  a  roaring  lion,  but  would  appear 
as  an  angel  of  light."  The  individual  must  solve  his 
problem  and  learn  to  stand  ** Alone  with  God."  St. 
John,  speaking  in  this  same  line,  advised  them  thus: 
**  Beloved,  believe  not  every  spirit,  but  try  the  spirits 
whether  they  are  of  God;  because  many  false  prophets 
are  gone  out  into  the  world. "    1st  John  4:1. 


182  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

"Hereby  know  ye  the  spirit  of  God.  Every  spirit 
that  confesseth  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh 
is  of  God."    1st  John  4:2. 

**And  every  spirit  that  confesseth  not  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh,  is  not  of  God;  and  this  is 
that  spirit  of  anti-Christ  whereof  ye  have  heard,  that 
it  shall  come;  and  even  now  is  it  already  in  the  world. 
1st  John  4:3. 

'*Ye  are  of  God,  little  children,  and  have  overcome 
them ;  because  greater  is  He  that  is  in  you  than  he  that 
is  in  the  world.    1st  John  4:4. 

"We  are  of  God:  he  that  knoweth  God  heareth  us; 
he  that  is  not  of  God  heareth  not  us.  Hereby  know  we 
the  spirit  of  truth,  and  the  spirit  of  error."  1st  John 
4:6. 

"Beloved,  let  us  love  one  another;  for  Love  is  of  God; 
and  every  one  that  loveth  is  born  of  God,  and  knoweth 
God."     1st  John  4:7. 

"Hereby  know  we  that  we  live  in  him,  and  he  in  us, 
because  he  has  given  us  of  his  Spirit."    1st  John  4:13. 

"Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  Law."  "The  Law  came 
through  Moses."  "But  grace  and  Truth  came  by  Jesus 
Christ." 

When  man  is  first  aroused  from  the  Adam-Sleep,  he 
requires  the  law,  it  being  the  school-master  which  will 
bring  him  unto  Christ;  but,  when  he  has  become  en- 
lightened through  the  Christ-Consciousness,  he  no  longer 
requires  the  law;  it  is  then  Love  Divine  which  leads, 
guides  and  sustains  him. 

Man  is  not  fully  enlightened  until  he  is  baptised  with 
and  abides  in  Love, — that  pure  essence  which  is  God- 
Love,  which  hears  even  the  softest  call  for  help  or  guid- 
ance and  readily  responds  to  the  faintest,  as  well  as 
the  strongest  radiation  of  gratitude,  Love  and  praise 
from  His  children,  the  Sons  of  God. 

There  is  nothing  which  so  sets  the  invisible  wires  of 
Heaven  into  harmonious  action,  strong  and  sweet,  as 
praise  to  God.    Why  is  this  so?    Because  gartitude  is 


Enlightenment  183 

the  one  thing  needful  for  the  enlightened  one.  In  fact, 
without  gratitude  one  cannot  attain  unto  full  enlight- 
enment. Before  man  can  become  fully  enlightened,  sel- 
fishness has  been  entirely  removed.  In  a  heart  filled 
with  Love,  selfishness  does  not  abound. 

God  is  the  creator  of  all.  'Tis  His  hand  that  spreads 
a  mantle  of  beauty  all  around  man,  from  the  green  car- 
pet with  which  He  covers  the  earth  to  the  deep  blue 
vault  over  head;  and  so  wonderful  is  the  creation  of 
God  that  man  cannot  produce  its  like,  even  the  smallest 
of  it,  a  grain  of  sand  or  blade  of  grass. 

It  is  not  man^s  province  to  create,  because  God,  in 
the  creative  period,  created  and  said,  ''It  is  finished," 
and  man,  after  he  became  individualized,  was  placed  in 
Paradise.  When  man  becomes  sufficiently  enlightened 
to  unwind  the  snarls  of  his  life,  which  have  been  formed 
by  the  effects  of  causes  which  he  has  set  in  operation 
while  he  lived  in  the  self-will  without  enlightenment  or 
understanding,  he  will  begin  his  task. 

In  the  Light  of  Illumination,  man  sees  that  God  is 
above  the  law  of  Cause  and  Effect,  and  has  not  anything 
to  do  with  it;  but  man,  living  in  this  law,  is  respon- 
sible for  his  surroundings  and  environments. 

Enlightenment  causes  man  to  perceive  the  law  of  God, 
which  transcends  the  law  of  Cause  and  Effect  and  re- 
veals to  man  the  way  to  come  so  near  to  the  Father  in 
consciousness  that  he  can,  as  the  prophets  of  old,  walk 
and  talk  with  God.  When  man  has  attained  unto  this 
height,  he  has  passed  beyond  the  law  of  Cause  and 
Effect;  then  he  recognizes  the  One  Law,  God's  Law  and 
His  laws  working  in  the  one  Law.  Man  in  this  illum- 
inated state  perceives  that  time  is  also  a  creation  of  the 
carnal  mind;  and  man  lives  in  bondage  to  it  until  he 
becomes  enlightened.  He  then  recognizes  Eternity  as 
the  forever  present  and  time  as  the  illusion.  When  man 
is  fully  illumined  concerning  the  illusion  of  time  and 
the  reality  of  Eternity,  his  body  will  discontinue  regis- 
tering time.    How  can  there  be  old  age,  when  Eternity 


184  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

is  understood  and  recognized  as  here  and  now?  The 
enlightened  man  will  serenely  abide  in  the  Eternity 
which  is,  was  and  ever  will  be.  Care,  fear,  doubt  and 
anxiety  can  never  more  approach  him,  because  the  light 
within  him  is  so  bright  and  clear  that  shadows  cannot 
enter. 

It  is  in  the  enlightened  state  that  man  will  sit  down 
at  the  right  hand  of  God,  which  means  that  he  knows 
and  recognizes  that  the  arm  of  Omnipotence  enfolds  and 
sustains  him.  The  Love  of  the  Infinite  fills  and  over- 
shadows him  and  the  hand  of  the  Father-Mother-God 
supplies  him  with  all  things  needful.  He  is  in  that 
place  represented  as  sitting  by  the  side  of  the  river  of 
life  and  resting  in  the  green  field  under  the  ever-green 
trees,  his  brow  fanned  by  the  soft  zephyrs  from  the 
flower-gardens  of  Paradise. 

Man  must  work  out  his  own  salvation  and,  we  read 
in  Holy  Writ,  man  does  this  in  **fear  and  trembling." 
This  is  where  he  bears  his  own  cross.  Jesus  said,  * '  Take 
up  thy  cross  and  follow  me." 

From  the  time  man  awakens  and  hears  the  Father  ^s 
''Still  Small  Voice"  and  arises  to  travel  upon  the  Christ- 
Path,  he  meets  many  obstacles,  but  through  faith  and 
prayer  he  wavers  not  when  he  sees  them  confront  him, 
but  persistently  presses  on,  trusting  in  God,  the  All 
Good. 

Man  carries  his  cross  from  his  awakening  unto  the 
full  enlightenment.  In  the  full  light  of  God,  man  learns 
to  lay  his  cross  (burdens)  down  at  the  feet  of  the  Christ, 
and  He  bears  them  ever  more.  This  Christ  is  the 
divine  man  of  each  one.  Jesus  Christ,  the  Saviour  of 
man,  is  just  as  conscious  of  compassion  for  mankind 
today  as  He  was  when  He  walked  the  Judean  hills  in 
the  body  known  as  Jesus,  He  is  just  as  able  to  heal 
today  as  then.  This  being  true,  man,  as  he  travels  upon 
the  Path,  carrying  his  cross,  can,  when  weary,  ask  for 
strength,  when  sick,  ask  healing  of  the  Father,  "Who 
doeth  all  things  well,"  ask  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ. 


Enlightenment  185 

Each  man,  like  as  Jesus,  will  carry  his  cross  to  Cal- 
vary, and  there  permit  his  carnal  mind,  nature  and 
body  to  be  nailed  thereto;  but  he  will  arise  in  newness 
of  life  and  walk  in  the  Light  of  God,  after  his  confused 
mind  is  lost,  merged  into  the  God  Mind,  which  ex- 
presses in  the  Keal  Self,  the  Divine  Man. 

Before  man  has  attained  full  light  he  requires  assist- 
ance. Let  him  ask  of  God.  He,  the  Ever-Present  and 
all-Loving  Father,  who  ever  ''Shifts  the  winds  to  pro- 
tect the  shorn  lamb,"  will  heal,  bless  and  sustain  all 
who  call  to  Him  in  that  one  name. 

It  being  the  Father's  good  pleasure  that  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Redeemed  Son,  should  be  the  ruling  monarch.  His 
name,  when  spoken  in  reverence,  faith,  appreciation 
and  understanding  causes  the  Omnipresence,  which  is 
God,  to  respond.  It  is  the  plan;  it  is  the  promise. 
This  being  true,  let  man  seek  for  and  attain  unto  En- 
lightenment. It  alone  wiU  enable  him  to  see,  know  and 
understand  the  way. 

The  way  is  dark  and  lonely  while  man  is  "working 
out  his  own  salvation  in  fear  and  trembling,"  but  there 
will  come  a  time  to  all  men,  sometime,  somewhere,  when 
the  Light  will  become  clear.  Then  Love  will  spring 
forth  in  the  heart  and  loved  ones  will  surround  him. 
Care,  anxiety,  fear  and  doubt  cause  men  to  feel  alone. 
Love  is  a  magnet  and  draws  its  own  substance  unto 
itself. 

Alone !  yet,  not  alone.  If  man  should  feel  alone,  stop ! 
Consider  the  place  where  you  are  now  standing  upon 
the  Path,  then  turn  to  the  message  of  our  Elder  Brother 
and  see  what  He  did  at  that  place. 

"These  words  spake  Jesus,  and  lifted  up  his  eyes  to 
heaven,  and  said,  '  Father,  the  hour  is  come ;  glorify  thy 
son,  as  thy  son  also  may  glorify  thee.'  "    St.  John  17:1. 

Again  Jesus  said  in  His  effort  to  lift  Himself  with 
the  Father's  assistance  above  the  appearance  of  things 
into  the  calm  and  serene  Presence  of  God,  "And  now, 
0  Father,  glorify  thou  me  with  thy  own  self  with  the 


186  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

glory  which  I  had  with  thee  before  the  world  was." 
St.  John  17:5. 

We  find  by  studying  the  life  of  Jesus,  that  at  all 
times  when  there  were  undesirable  things  to  meet  and 
master,  He  turned  to  the  Father  and  in  prayer  com- 
muned with  Him.  This  reveals  to  man  the  necessity 
of  prayer. 

To  the  Enlightened  one  silent  communion  brings 
about  conscious  at-one-ment;  and,  abiding  in  that 
*' Secret  place  of  the  Most  High,"  ecstasy  fills  the  mind 
and  heart,  and  man  is  at  Home  in  God, — in  Enlighten- 
ment. 


CHAPTER  XI 
THE  BLESSEDNESS  OF  INSIGHT. 

MAN  cannot  comprehend  the  blessedness  of  In- 
sight until  he  has  attained  unto  it;  therefore, 
man  may  linger  long  on  the  rough  path  of  ex- 
perience before  he  catches  a  glimpse,  even  though  it  be 
small,  of  the  blessings  which  come  to  the  one  who  has 
come  near  enough  to  the  great  central  Light  to  per- 
ceive that  there  is  a  Light,  which,  when  discerned,  will 
light  the  path  unto  the  perfect  way ;  man  will  then  take 
courage  and  press  on. 

What  is  the  state  of  the  one  who  has  the  Blessedness 
of  Insight?  He  lives  in  peace.  Peace  within  himself 
and  toward  all  men.  His  heart  is  filled  to  overflowing 
with  Love  for  all  manifestations  of  God ;  be  it  in  the 
form  of  man,  great  or  small;  the  atoms  of  earth,  the 
grains  of  sand  along  the  sea  shore,  the  tiny  blades  of 
grass  which  cover  earth *s  barrenness;  the  bird,  the  ser- 
pent, the  lion,  the  lamb,  the  man  in  his  savage  uncouth 
state ;  or  man  in  the  polished  and  cultured  state  of  high 
civilization.  He,  being  so  conscious  of  love  within  and 
without,  is  in  rhythm  with  the  center  and  circumference 
of  all  Love, — God.  To  him  there  is  one  family, — ^the 
universal  brotherhood  of  the  Sons  of  God;  and  races 
and  colors  are  only  the  variegated  blending  and  shad- 
ing of  the  one  great  race, — the  family  of  God.  Through 
the  Blessedness  of  Insight  man  walks  upon  the  Sacred 
Path  which  winds  its  way  through  humanity,  which  he 
perceives,  in  their  real  selves, — are  each,  one  and  all, 

187 


188  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

the  manifestations  of  God;  he  lives  in  the  perception  of 
Universal  Brotherhood. 

He  has  no  fear  of  being  unkind  to  his  neighbor,  neither 
that  his  fellow  man  will  be  unkind  to  him;  because  he 
understands  God's  Eternal  Law  and  abides  in  it.  He 
walks  in  the  earth  and  mingles  with  his  fellow  man ;  yet 
he  is  not  of  the  earth,  earthy,  because  ''former  things 
have  passed  away  and  all  things  have  become  new. ' '  He 
has  trod  the  wine  press  of  experience  and,  perchance, 
long  and  lonely  was  the  steep  ascent  as  he  neared  the 
summit;  but,  when  he  stepped  upon  the  solid  rock  on 
the  mountain  top,  he,  with  the  serenity  of  a  Sage,  in 
gratitude  broad  and  deep,  views  the  handiwork  of  God; 
and  thus  he  stands,  his  soul  reveling  in  the  blessedness 
of  Insight. 

0,  who!  Save  the  man  with  insight,  can  glean  the 
blessedness  which  comes  to  the  enlightened  one  on  the 
summit, — the  Eternal  Rock  of  Truth  ? 

He  looks  into  the  heart  of  the  rose,  the  lily,  the  violet, 
the  daisy,  the  sunflower,  the  tassels  of  the  corn,  yea,  and 
the  lotus,  and  sees  there  the  smile  of  our  Father-Mother- 
God. 

In  the  deeps  of  the  earth  the  vision  of  the  man  who 
has  spiritual  insight  perceives  the  presence  of  the  Om- 
nipotent One;  in  the  ocean's  deeps  he  realizes  that  God 
is  there. 

In  the  Blessedness  of  Insight,  St.  Paul  exclaimed 
(speaking  of  the  trials  and  tribulations  of  man),  ''None 
of  these  things  move  me." 

The  joy,  the  peace,  the  Love,  the  harmony  and  seren- 
ity which  comes  into  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  man  who 
is  standing  upon  the  Eternal  Rock, — Truth,  none  can 
understand,  except  one  who  has  the  perception. 

The  man  who  has  the  Blessedness  of  Insight  hears  the 
sweet  note  of  the  nightingale's  song,  the  tenderness  in 
the  call  of  the  raven  calling  to  its  young;  the  sublimity 
of  the  morning  chorus  of  songsters  as  they  warble  forth 


The  Blessedness  of  Insight  189 

their  glad  greeting  to  the  rising  sun ;  the  still  sweet  voice 
in  the  midst  of  the  roar  of  the  cataract,  the  tempest  and 
the  cyclone ;  and  behind  the  darkness  of  the  approaching 
cloud  he  sees  the  sun  as  it  shines  in  all  its  beauty  and 
brilliancy.  Beneath  the  barren  desert,  he  looks  into  the 
earth  and  sees  every  atom,  pulsating  with  life  and  that 
the  ether  over  the  barrenness  is  vibrant  with  life.  Of  the 
reason,  we  will  ask,  * '  How  could  it  be  different  when  God 
fills  all  space,  and  is  Life,  Love,  Light,  Peace  and 
Power?"  The  man  of  Insight  perceives  that  he  is  in 
the  presence  of  that  which  is.  What  is  this  presence? 
Aum!  and  all  he  sees  within,  around  and  about  him  is 
the  manifestation  of  that  which  is, — the  Living  God  Al- 
mighty. In  this  Presence  there  is  naught  to  fear,  and 
fear,  having  been  removed  from  the  mind  before  in- 
sight could  enter, — the  man  of  Insight  calmly  abides  in 
this  Presence. 

0,  the  joy  and  bliss  of  serenely  abiding  in  conscious 
at-one-ment  with  the  Heavenly  Father  is  so  sublime  that 
only  Realization  can  reveal  its  grandeur  and  magnitude. 

If  man  has  the  realization  of  Insight,  he  cannot  be 
disturbed  by  the  forming  and  unf orming  of  worlds ;  the 
building  of  the  Ark,  the  entering  thereinto ;  the  flood,  and 
its  abatement,  the  coming  forth  from  the  Ark;  and  the 
repeopling  of  the  earth — all,  yes,  all  these  are  only  pass- 
ing events  thrown  on  the  curtain  which  hangs  before  the 
Real,  and  disturbs  him  not. 

Some  may  ask,  how  can  any  attain  unto  that  great 
height  where  none  of  these  things  move  him  ?  Insight  is 
the  door. 

King  David,  speaking  of  the  sublimity  of  Insight,  said, 
''A  thousand  may  fall  at  thy  side  and  ten  thousand  at 
thy  right  hand,  but  it  shall  not  come  nigh  thee,"  ''only 
with  thine  eye  shalt  thou  behold,  and  see  the  reward  of 
the  wicked. ' '  We  thus  see  that  Insight  leads  man  above 
the  path  of  unrighteousness.  Who  are  the  unrighteous  ? 
Those  who  have  not  come  into  the  understanding  of  the 
Truth  of  their  Being;  they  know  not  God,  nor  them- 


190  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

selves,  nor  their  f ellowmen ;  neither  do  they  understand 
the  universe  in  which  they  live.  Not  knowing  nor  un- 
derstanding the  way,  they  make  mistakes,  moved  by  the 
wrong,  not  the  right;  but  when  they  learn  the  Truth 
concerning  themselves,  God  and  the  Universe,  and  start 
upon  the  Sacred  Path,  guided  through  Insight,  they  are 
on  the  right  way  and  will  become  righteous. 

In  the  full  realization  of  himself,  as  he  came  from  the 
Infinite  womb,  man's  insight  is  clear  enough  for  him  to 
discern  that  when  he  stepped  from  that  Infinite  womb, 
he  only  moved  into  the  Infinite  Heart;  therefore,  man 
is  as  pure  and  perfect  now,  as  then ;  for,  lo,  there  is  not, 
nor  can  there  be  anything  other  than  purity  in  God,  His 
Presence  and  His  Creation. 

It  is  man's  privilege  to  come  into  the  Blessedness  of 
Insight,  which  enables  him  to  live  in  that  conscious  Real- 
ization. It  is  to  this  state  St.  Paul  referred  when  he 
said,  ''None  of  these  things  move  me." 

The  man  who  has  the  blessing  of  Insight  has  content- 
ment, and  something  more, — he  has  Divine  Satisfaction. 
He  abides  in  the  steadfastness  of  God.  ''And  Jesus  said 
unto  him,  no  man,  having  put  his  hand  to  the  plow,  and 
looking  back,  is  fit  for  the  Kingdom  of  God. ' '  St.  Luke, 
9:62, 

Jesus  in  His  prayer  to  the  Father,  for  His  disciples 
who  had  Insight  was,  "I  pray  not  that  thou  shouldest 
take  them  out  of  the  world,  but  that  thou  shouldest 
keep  them  from  the  evil."    St.  John,  17:15. 

"They  are  not  of  the  world,  even -as  I  am  not  of  the 
world."    St.  John,  17:16. 

When  man  has  attained  unto  insight  concerning  the 
great  Truth  that  God  is  All  in  All,  man  is  no  longer  in 
the  world  concept,  and  is,  therefore,  not  of  the  world. 

The  world  of  man,  which  is  the  carnal  mind,  does  not 
understand  the  man  of  Spiritual  Insight,  therefore,  does 
not  appreciate  him. 

Though  man  may  be  persecuted,  even  as  the  disciples 


The  Blessedness  of  Insight  191 

of  Jesus  were,  the  Blessedness  of  Insight  cannot  be  taken 
away  from  him. 

The  young  man  Stephen,  when  they  were  stoning  him, 
saw  the  heaven  open  and  Jesus  Christ  on  the  right  hand 
of  God.  With  Spiritual  Insight,  Stephen  looked  away 
and  was  blessed  so  sublimely  that  the  carnal  concept 
cannot  perceive  the  beauty  and  grandeur  which  it  con- 
tains. 

Daniel  in  the  den  of  lions  was  in  the  Blessedness  of 
Insight,  and  the  Love  of  the  Father  was  so  great  that  it 
closed  the  mouths  of  the  ferocious  beasts. 

*'Love  suffereth  long  and  is  kind.  Love  vaunteth  not 
itself,"  but  radiates  in  and  expresses  through  the  man 
of  Insight. 

Elijah,  being  so  close  to  God,  through  Insight  recog- 
nized the  power  which  would  enable  him  to  perform  the 
works,  which  would  cause  the  men  who  were  living  in 
the  world-mind  to  become  aroused,  that  they  might  know 
that  there  is  one  God,  the  omnipresent  and  omnipotent 
One;  and  through  the  Blessedness  of  Insight  he  called 
forth  the  fire,  which  burned  the  sacrifice  and  the  wood 
and  stones  and  licked  up  the  water  that  was  in  the  trench 
around  the  altar.  "God  is  a  consuming  fire,'*  and  they 
that  worship  Him  with  Insight,  do  so  **in  Spirit  and 
Truth.'' 

"And  when  all  the  people  saw  it,  they  fell  on  their 
faces,  and  said,  The  Lord,  He  is  the  God ;  the  Lord,  He 
is  the  God. ' '    1st  Kings,  18:39. 

When  Spiritual  Enlightenment  pierces  the  tomb,  that 
precinct  of  the  carnal  mind,  it  begins  to  think  of  others, 
because  enlightenment  consumes  selfishness.  When  Eli- 
jah cast  his  mantle  upon  Elisha,  as  he  was  plowing  in  the 
field, — "And  he  left  the  oxen  and  ran  after  Elijah,  and 
said.  Let  me,  I  pray  thee,  kiss  my  father  and  mother, 
and  then  I  will  follow  thee.  And  he  said  unto  him,  Go 
back  again ;  for  what  have  I  done  to  thee  T '  1st  Kings, 
19:20, 


192  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

''And  he  returned  back  from  him,  and  took  a  yoke 
of  oxen,  and  slew  them,  and  boiled  their  flesh  with  the 
instruments  of  the  oxen,  and  gave  unto  the  people,  and 
they  did  eat.  Then  he  arose,  and  went  after  Elijah,  and 
ministered  unto  him."    1st  Kings,  19:21. 

Jesus,  from  the  enlightened  perception  of  the  Truth, 
as  it  is,  approaching  the  tomb  of  Lazarus,  in  conscious 
unity  with  the  Father,  spake,  ''Lazarus,  come  forth," 
and  he  came  forth,  bound  in  his  grave  clothes.  Jesus  said, 
' '  Loose  him,  and  let  him  go. ' ' 

When  the  disciples  returned  from  the  village  with  the 
food  and  found  Jesus  talking  to  the  woman  at  the  well 
and  to  those  whom  she  brought  to  Him,  the  disciples  re- 
quested Him  to  eat  food,  but  He  said  unto  them:  "I 
have  meat  to  eat  that  ye  know  not  of."  He  thus  ex- 
pressed the  blessedness  of  Insight. 

When  man  has  through  understanding  and  insight 
come  into  the  Realization  of  the  Truth  of  Being,  he  has 
come  close  to  the  Unity  with  the  Father-Mother-God,  and, 
according  to  his  degree  of  insight,  he  is  master  over  the 
material  laws  which  rule  and  hold  the  carnal  man  as  in 
a  vise.  While  the  carnal  man  is  subject  to  the  law  of 
sin  and  death,  the  man  of  Insight,  he  who  has  been  born 
again  and  has  the  Christ  expressing  within  him,  is  not 
subject  to  these,  "neither  indeed  can  be;"  because  in 
insight  man  has  become  conscious  of  the  dominion  with 
which  man  was  endued  by  God,  the  Creator,  at  Crea- 
tion,— at  the  time  when  man  became  an  individualized 
manifestation  of  God. 

The  Blessedness  of  Insight  is  Peace,  Love,  Harmony 
and  Divine  Satisfaction, — these  compose  the  divine  estate 
of  man;  they  are  the  inheritance  of  the  Real  Man. 
Of  that  state  of  consciousness,  which  is  the  Fourth  Di- 
mentsion,  we  will  give  a  word  picture. 

In  Peace  man  dwells  among  the  inhabitants  of  earth ; 
and,  though  many  of  them  may  be  stirred  with  wars  and 
rumors  of  wars,  he  is  not  disturbed.  He  dwells  in  Love 
and  moves  amidst  his  fellow  men,  radiating  Love  to  all. 


The  Blessedness  of  Insight  193 

In  Divine  Satisfaction  he  abides  in  his  inheritance  in 
enjoyment  of  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit.  King  David  said : 
''He  that  dwelleth  in  the  secret  place  of  the  most  High 
shall  abide  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty.  *  *  Psalms 
91:1. 

*  *  I  will  say  of  the  Lord,  He  is  my  refuge  and  my  fort- 
ress, my  God,  in  Him  will  I  trust. ' '    Psalms,  91 :2. 

**Only  with  thine  eyes  shalt  thou  behold  and  see  the 
reward  of  the  wicked. ' '    Psalms,  91 :8. 

**  Because  thou  hast  made  the  Lord,  which  is  my  refuge, 
even  the  most  High,  thy  habitation."    Psalms,  91:9. 

*' There  shall  no  evil  befall  thee,  neither  shall  any 
plague  come  nigh  thy  dwelling. '^    Psalms,  91:10. 

**For  he  shall  give  his  angels  charge  over  thee,  to  keep 
thee  in  all  thy  ways."    Psalms,  91:11. 

*  *  They  shall  bear  thee  up  in  their  hands,  lest  thou  dash 
thy  foot  against  a  stone. ' '    Psalms,  91 :12. 

"Because  he  hath  set  his  love  upon  me,  therefore,  will 
I  deliver  him:  I  will  set  him  on  high,  because  he  hath 
known  my  name."    Psalms,  91:14. 

**With  long  life  will  I  satisfy  him,  and  shew  him  my 
salvation."    Psalms,  91:16. 

The  man  blessed  with  the  Blessedness  of  Insight  moves 
softly  along  in  his  ongoings;  he  murmurs  not,  because 
he,  being  in  rhythm  with  Harmony,  which  is  the  music 
of  the  spheres,  hears  not  the  discordant  notes  which  are 
sounded  upon  his  right  hand  and  his  left,  not  being  in 
accord  with  them. 

The  man  of  Insight  lives  in  the  world,  but  knows  that 
he  is  not  of  it.  The  world  in  all  ages  needs  many  men 
of  deep  Insight  among  the  inhabitants  of  earth.  At  this 
closing  cycle  many  are  required,  and  the  Father,  ever 
knowing  what  mankind  is  in  need  of,  has  caused  many 
advanced  Egos  to  be  dwelling  upon  the  earth  at  this 
present  time, — more,  perhaps,  than  at  any  other  time. 

The  man  who  has  the  Blessedness  of  Insight  has 
learned  to  know  himself  and  somewhat  to  understand 


194  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

God  and  His  Laws;  and  he  endeavors  to  ''be  still"  and 
let  the  Father's  will  be  wrought  in  and  through  him.  It 
is  Insight  which  enables  him  to  trust  in  God  and  lean 
upon  His  everlasting  arm;  and,  according  to  his  degree 
of  Insight,  is  he  able  to  stand  at  all  times  amidst  the 
trying  tests. 

Daniel  had  insight  sufficiently  clear  to  enable  him 
to  have  faith  strong  enough  in  God's  protecting  Care, 
Love  and  Power  to  stand  in  the  den  of  lions;  and  God 
responded  to  Daniel's  prayer  by  sending  the  angels 
closing  the  lion's  mouth. 

Daniel  dwelt  in  consciousness  near  the  Father, — so 
near  that  he  gave  forth  the  prophecies  which  are  now, 
after  the  passing  of  many  centuries,  being  fulfilled  in 
the  outer. 

Insight  expresses  in  Love,  Trust  and  Devotion  to  the 
One  and  only  God, — ^the  Almighty,  which  is;  and  re- 
sponds in  outer  manifestation  in  answer  to  prayer.  If 
in  the  midst  of  discord  the  man  of  Insight  asks  for  har- 
mony, harmony  is  given  him, — it  becomes  manifest ;  and, 
as  harmony  and  discord  are  opposites,  both  cannot  be  in 
the  same  place  at  the  same  time;  therefore,  when,  in 
answer  to  prayer.  Harmony  becomes  manifest,  discord 
disappears.  Where  is  the  discord?  Harmony  has  con- 
sumed it.  We  read,  *'God  is  a  consuming  fire;"  Har- 
mony, one  of  the  aspects  of  God,  performs  its  functions 
in  answer  to  prayer,  and  no  man  with  Insight  will  dwell 
long  in  discord. 

It  matters  not  concerning  the  method  of  prayer;  but 
it  is  very  important  that  man  examine  himself  before 
he  prays,  that  he  may  bring  himself  into  rapport  with 
the  Infinite. 

The  prayer  may  be  silent  or  audible,  but  always  remem- 
ber, that  "man  of  himself  can  do  nothing."  His  work  is 
to  bring  himself  into  an  understanding  of  the  Father 
within,  when  the  Father  who  dwelleth  within  will  do  the 


The  Blessedness  of  Insight  195 

work.  ' '  The  Father  who  seeth  in  secret  will  reward  thee 
openly."    ''Ask  what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done." 

Believest  thou  this?  The  man  of  Insight,  not  only  be- 
lieves, but  has  learned  his  lesson  so  well  that  he  knows 
it  to  be  true, — that  God  answers  prayer.  It  is  God  who 
giveth  the  increase. 

The  man  of  Insight  chooses  many  and  varied  ways  of 
performing  his  part  in  prayer ;  for,  it  is  well  to  remem- 
ber that  it  is  man 's  province  to  pray,  having  been  taught 
by  the  Holy  Spirit ;  for  no  man  has  clear  insight  until  he 
has  received  the  Baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  is 
the  New  Birth.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  an  influx  of  divine 
power  from  God,  so  strong  and  powerful  that  the  man, 
quickened  by  it,  awakens  into  a  new  state  of  concept,  and 
begins  to  travel  upon  a  Path  which  leads  him  out  and 
away  from  carnality  and  its  ways. 

Nicodemus,  a  ruler  of  the  Jews,  came  to  Jesus  by  night 
to  enquire  of  Him  concerning  the  things  He  was  teach- 
ing. Jesus '  answer  was  short,  but  direct :  ' '  Ye  must  be 
born  again."  Nicodemus,  being  educated  in  the  learning 
and  wisdom  of  the  world,  was  much  surprised  at  the  an- 
swer. No  doubt,  Jesus  knew  this  and  desired  it  to  stir 
his  mind,  just  as  it  did.  He  questioned  how  that  could 
be.  Then,  ''Jesus  answered.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
thee,  except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he 
cannot  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  God."    St.  John,  3:5. 

"That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh;  and  that 
which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  Spirit."    St.  John,  3:6. 

' '  Ye  must  be  born  from  above. ' '  Jesus '  teachings  were 
ever  to  the  individual  alone ;  but  to  each  and  every  one, 
He  said,  "Ye  shall  know  the  Truth,  and  the  Truth  shall 
make  you  free." 

The  New  Birth  is  a  gift  of  quickening  power  from  God. 
Man  cannot  assist  here,  neither  can  he  by  the  manipula- 
tions of  his  mind,  bring  it  about.  The  one  thing  needful, 
when  one  prays  for  the  New  Birth,  is  to  stay  the  mind 
upon  God,  in  the  name  of  Christ;  then,  "be  still,"  and 
let  the  Father  do  that  which  He  desires. 


196  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

If  man  is  in  conscious  communion  with  God,  in  and 
through  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  psychic  forces 
cannot  enter,  for  God's  protecting  power  is  around  him. 

The  Blessedness  of  Insight  is  to  know  that  man  dwells 
in  the  very  presence  of  God,  and  the  knowing  is  so  real, 
that  man  perceives  that  the  Father  hears  every  thought 
and  word  and  responds  to  every  call.  The  promise  is, 
'*Ask  what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done."  With  clear 
Insight  man  realizes  the  ever  present  Infinite,  our  loving 
and  tender  Father,  and  that  He  responds  as  readily  to 
the  call  of  His  children  as  the  sunshine  responds  when 
the  curtain  shutting  it  out  of  the  room  is  removed. 

If  man  has  not  the  Blessedness  of  Insight,  he  may  not 
desire  the  fullness  of  the  sunshine,  but  only  a  small  ray. 
If  man's  faith  is  sufficiently  strong  and  his  insight  clear, 
God  will  heal  the  sick  and  transform  the  environments  of 
those  for  whom  prayer  is  made;  but  it  requires  faith, 
love  and  devotion,  coupled  with  Insight,  to  cause  the 
signs  to  follow ;  and  all  selfish  motives  must  be  removed 
from  the  one  who  prays.  The  man  who  has  the  insight 
that  results  in  blessedness  has  become  freed  from  selfish- 
ness and  his  prayers  continually  are  for  the  good  of  the 
whole;  just  as  the  air  ladened  with  the  ocean  breeze 
blows  over  and  through  the  great  city  refreshing  all. 

The  man  with  Spiritual  Insight  has  scaled  the  heights. 
He  stands  on  a  mountain  peak  far  above  the  whirl  and 
turmoil  of  the  busy  city.  He  is  surrounded  with  the 
solemnity,  grandeur  and  majesty  of  the  mountains.  The 
soft  breezes  caress  him  lovingly  and  tenderly ;  the  flow- 
ers bloom  at  his  feet;  the  trees  greet  him  as  he  passes, 
and  the  mountain  stream  rolls  softly  on,  murmuring  its 
song  of  content  and  carrying  its  blessing  to  the  valley 
below.  He  sees  the  snow-capped  peaks  above  him, 
dressed  in  their  garment  of  purity.  Serene  he  stands, 
for  he  knows  that  he  is  alone  with  God  and  that  this 
which  the  outer  man  looks  upon  is  only  the  outer  mantle 
of  the  Infinite. 

Oh,  the  Blessed  Insight!  which  enables  man  to  thus 


The  Blessedness  op  Insight  197 

stand  on  the  mountain  side  above  carnality's  ways  and 
serenely  view  the  landscape  o'er,  with  no  regret  in  his 
mind  as  he  turns  from  the  beautiful  city  which  lies  at 
the  base  of  the  mountains  with  all  its  glittering  allure- 
ments. He  rests  his  head  upon  the  Father's  bosom,  and 
continues  to  search  deeper  into  the  mysteries  of  God. 

Blessed  Insight!  thou  hast  enabled  mankind,  as  they 
attend  thee,  to  stand  for  the  right,  for  the  Truth,  for 
Peace,  for  brotherly  kindness ;  defeating  the  mortal  con- 
cept which  knows  nothing  of  the  blessedness. 

Insight  anchors  man  deep  in  the  divine  concept  of  him- 
self and  of  God;  and  Insight  can  become  so  deep,  clear 
and  strong  that  man  can  stand  immovable,  even  though 
billows  of  trials  and  troubles  dash  against  him;  for  in 
the  midst  of  the  storm  the  Christ  will  arise  and  calm 
the  waves, — ** Peace,  be  still."  A  vessel  may  be  upon 
the  deep  sea  without  a  helmsman ;  but  if  the  man  of  In- 
sight prays  with  faith,  the  hand  of  God  will  steer  it  into 
that  port  of  safety  where  is  love  and  harmony,  where 
loved  ones  welcome  him,  and  where  the  milk  of  the  spirit, 
the  honey  of  the  word  and  the  bread  from  heaven  is  the 
food. 

The  Blessedness  of  Insight  is  not  in  reaching  this  har- 
bor for  one's  self  alone;  but  that  man,  after  he  has 
reached  it,  may  become  of  assistance  to  his  fellowman, — 
his  brothers  who  as  yet  have  not  gained  as  much  light 
as  he. 

It  is  unselfishness  which  is  expressed  in  the  man  of 
Insight.  From  the  mountain  peak,  far  above  the  city,  he 
has  gained  a  vision  which  cannot  be  erased  from  his 
memory;  and  the  vision  inspires  him  to  press  on  into 
deeper  insight  for  himself,  that  he  may  leave  carnality 
far  behind  and  come  in  his  own  individual  life  into  such 
a  freedom  that  he  can  assist  others  to  attain  unto  the 
same  great  freedom.  Freedom  is  man's  inheritance. 
Freedom  from  what  ?    From  illusions  of  carnality. 

The  bliss  of  Insight  gives  man  calmness,  serenity  and 


198  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

love.  He  sits  in  the  shade  of  the  Tree  of  Life,  and  as 
the  ever  green  fields  spread  far  around  him,  he  sees  the 
cattle  on  a  thousand  hills  and  the  sheep  gathering  into 
the  fold  and  knows  well  the  Shepherd  of  the  sheep  and 
understands  well  the  source  from  whence  his  abundance 
comes,  even  from  Him  whose  are  the  cattle  on  a  thousand 
hills. 

Man  in  this  state  of  Insight  does  not  earn  his  bread 
by  the  sweat  of  his  brow;  but,  through  faith,  love  and 
trust  in  his  Heavenly  Father,  he  is  sustained.  God 
blesses  him;  for,  **The  Father  knoweth  what  ye  have 
need  of  before  ye  ask  Him."  Being  thus  bountifully 
sustained  by  his  Heavenly  Father,  man  is  ever  ready  to 
do  all  work  which  falls  to  him  to  do;  so  that  this  does 
not  mean  that  man,  when  he  receives  Insight,  will  sit 
idly  and  depend  upon  his  brother  to  support  him.  This 
would  be  the  out-picturing  of  selfishness ;  and  selfishness 
cannot  dwell  where  Insight  is.  The  man  with  Insight 
is  conscious  of  the  presence  and  omnipresence  of  God. 
Therefore,  as  he  moves  among  his  fellow  men,  he  con- 
tinues to  perform  his  duty,  doing  with  his  might  what 
his  hands  find  to  do,  while  yet  praying  to  the  Father  for 
those  he  sees  in  need  of  the  Divine  Help.  One  may  ask, — 
**If  God  is  all  knowing,  all  loving,  all  power  and  ever 
present,  why  is  it  necessary  for  man  to  pray  ? ' '  Because 
God's  presence  is  unmanifest  in  that  which  is  needed, 
and  the  prayer  causes  God  to  become  manifest  in  bring- 
ing into  expression  that  which  is  needful. 

St.  James  said,  "Man's  prayers  are  not  answered  be- 
cause they  ask  amiss,  that  they  may  consume  it  upon 
their  lusts,  upon  themselves;"  and  man,  until  he  gains 
insight,  continues  to  ask  amiss.  No  man  knows  how  to 
pray  until  Christ  is  born  within  him  and  he  is  in  the 
power  of  the  New  Birth.  Then,  if  he  will  quiet  his  mind 
and  let  the  Christ  within  him  pray,  the  prayer  will  be 
answered,  because  the  Christ  knoweth  the  way  of  the 
Father's  power.  This  is  the  Comforter  which  Jesus 
said  He  would  pray  the  Father  to  send  them,  adding  that 


The  Blessedness  of  Insight  199 

He  ''The  Spirit  of  Truth  will  guide  you  into  all  Truth." 
Arise,  thou  that  sleepeth  in  the  carnal  concept  of  man 
and  the  world,  and  seek  until  you  gain  insight,  whose 
blessedness  is  the  Fruit  of  the  Spirit. 

The  man  with  Insight  carries  no  burdens,  because  he 
has  learned  to  lay  them  down  at  the  Master's  feet;  no 
sorrow,  however  deep,  can  have  an  impression  upon  him, 
because  he  knows  the  Truth  of  Being;  and  even  though 
a  loved  one  departs  from  the  tenement  of  flesh,  he,  with 
the  eye  of  Insight,  looks  away  from  the  clay  to  the  liv- 
ing one  who  has  departed  from  it.  He  will  carry  out  the 
funeral  rites  as  custom  demands ;  but  he  knows  that  that 
which  he  buries  is  not  the  man,  because  death  cannot 
touch  Life  which  is  Eternal ;  and  that  which  he  sees  de- 
serted is  only  the  garment  once  worn  by  the  loved  one 
who  has  left  it  and  flown  above  the  carnal  perception, 
but  not  away  from  the  man  of  Insight,  who  knows  that 
there  is  no  separation  in  God  and  that  Life  dieth  not. 
Therefore,  in  the  Blessedness  of  Insight  he  dwells  and 
remains  undisturbed,  knowing,  as  he  does,  that  Life  is 
Eternal  and  that  there  is  one  Law,  God's  Eternal  Law, 
ever  in  action  throughout  God's  Creation,  which  causes 
all  things  to  work  together  for  good,  even  as  now,  for  he 
has  learned  that  out  of  the  greatest  calamity  God  does 
cause  good  to  come.  It  is,  therefore,  that  the  man  of 
Insight  fears  not,  neither  is  he  dismayed,  for,  behold, 
he  has  long  since  learned  that  he  and  all  men  live,  move 
and  have  their  being  in  God.  Then  why  should  any  fear, 
even  though  the  shadows  of  carnality  seem  dark? 

Arise,  thou  man  of  Insight !  and  stand  still  and  brave 
and  do  that  work  which  thy  hands  find  to  do,  guided  by 
Divine  "Wisdom  and  Love;  and  the  Peace  and  Love  of 
God  will  abide  with  thee, — this  is  the  Blessedness  of 
Insight. 


CHAPTER  XII 

RETRIBUTIVE   JUSTICE,    OR,   RESTORATION. 

WHEN  man  has  awakened,  he  appreciates  the  joy 
of  Life,  the  ecstasy  of  bliss  and  the  peace  of 
Love.  It  is  well  for  man  to  be  sufficiently 
awakened  to  enjoy  the  vibration  of  the  Spirit.  However, 
if  he  continues  to  do  so  without  understanding,  it  will 
lead  into  a  negative  state  which  is  not  beneficial  to  his 
spiritual  unfoldment.  We  find  many  of  the  awakened 
ones  upon  the  earth  today,  who  prefer  not  to  hear  any- 
thing spoken  of  except  the  good.  This  is  well,  if  done  in 
Insight,  but,  if  in  ignorance,  it  results  in  stagnation. 

If  the  searcher  after  the  Truth  desires  "The  Truth, 
the  whole  Truth,  and  nothing  but  the  Truth,  * '  it  is  neces- 
sary that  he  understand  every  side  of  the  Great  Truth. 
The  Holy  City  lieth  four  square  upon  Mount  Zion ;  and 
man,  to  become  the  individualized  Holy  City,  must  build 
the  four  walls.  In  other  words,  he  must  master  his  four- 
fold nature. 

Man  through  concentration  can  fix  the  mind  so  firmly 
upon  the  sky,  that  he  will  not  see  the  clouds  which  pass 
between  himself  and  the  blue  vault  above  him;  but, 
whether  he  sees  them  or  not,  the  clouds  will  pass  and 
cast  their  shadow  upon  the  earth, — then  what  has  he 
gained  ?  One  point  only, — concentration.  That  is  good, 
because  when  man  is  awakened  his  first  work  is  with  his 
mind.  An  ancient  sage  likened  the  mind  to  a  *'wild 
horse, '*  and  when  man  begins  to  study  the  mind,  its 
moods  and  tenacity,  he  is  readily  convinced  that  the  an- 
cient Sage  understood  what  he  was  saying.    Concentra- 

200 


Retributive  Justice,  or.  Restoration         201 

tion  is  the  first  step  taken,  for  until  man  has  the  power 
and  ability  to  concentrate  his  mind  at  will  he  has  not 
mastership.  But  this  is  to  be  done  for  his  own  unfold- 
ment  and  progression,  and  not  to  be  used  over  other 
minds.  A  tree  is  watered  that  it  may  grow,  the  growth 
taking  place  within  the  tree. 

What  is  Retributive  Justice?  What  Restoration? 
God's  Law  is  inexorable  and  never  ceases  in  its  action. 
God's  Law  is  the  unchangeable  Law.  There  is  a  law  in 
carnality  known  as  the  law  of  ** Cause  and  Effect;"  in 
ancient  teaching  it  is  called  ** Karma.''  As  long  as  man 
lives  in  the  carnal  concept,  he  is  in  that  law,  and  none 
can  sway  it.  '  *  As  man  sows,  so  he  reaps. "  It  is  Retrib- 
utive Justice,  and  after  man  has  suffered  sufficiently  to 
become  aroused  he  will  seek  for  a  way  of  escape  from  it ; 
and,  from  its  lessons,  man  will  learn  the  way  to  Resto- 
ration, or  his  True  State. 

How  is  this  law  of  Cause  and  Effect  placed  in  action  ? 
By  man's  thoughts,  words  and  deeds;  and,  though  man 
is  ignorant  of  it,  the  effect  follows  the  cause  in  such 
precision,  that  when  man  begins  to  reason  he  sometimes 
is  amazed;  but  studying  this  law  does  not  assist  man 
into  Restoration,  as  ''the  fountain  can  rise  no  higher 
than  its  source. "  If  a  man  sows  wheat,  he  knows  he  will 
reap  wheat;  if  corn,  he  will  harvest  corn.  This  is  the 
law.  If  a  man  plants  an  acorn,  an  oak  tree  is  the  result. 
If  a  man  sows  kindness,  he  will  reap  kindness;  if  un- 
kindness,  this  is  the  fruit  he  will  gather.  Man  in  his 
awakened  state  may  think  he  has  been  very  successful 
because  he  has  succeeded  in  covering  from  his  fellow 
man  his  business  transactions;  but,  though  these  trans- 
actions may  have  enriched  him  and  enabled  him  to  live 
in  ease  and  luxury,  yet  have  the  widows  and  orphans 
been  turned  away  from  their  home  and  been  deprived  of 
their  bread.  Let  not  this  man  deceive  himself,  even 
though  his  couch  is  soft  and  downy  and  he  receives  the 
applause  of  his  fellowman;  for  the  law  of  Cause  and 
Effect  is  set  into  operation  and  he  will  not  escape  from 


202  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

it  until  he  has  paid  *'unto  the  very  last  farthing.'* 
Though  he  may  pass  from  the  body,  through  death, 
under  the  sanction  of  the  organized  Church,  with  his 
name  enrolled  upon  its  pages,  nevertheless,  he  will  not 
escape  until  he  has  paid  "unto  the  last  farthing. ' '  These 
deeds  are  sufficient  to  cause  him  to  return  to  earth  one 
or  more  times ;  for,  for  a  man  to  repent  and  ask  God  for 
forgiveness  and  continue  to  live  upon  the  fat  of  the  land, 
gotten  through  methods  that  deprive  others  of  what  be- 
longs to  them,  will  not  enable  him  to  pass  the  pearly 
gates  and  walk  upon  the  gold-paved  streets, — no,  no,  not 
so  are  the  laws  of  justice  and  kindness  written  into  the 
Universe. 

We  read  in  Holy  Writ  that  ''man  must  work  out  his 
own  salvation,''  and  thus  also  it  is  written  into  the  very 
being  of  man. 

God  is  Law  and  Power  and  is  everywhere  present,  but 
He  does  not  interfere  with  man's  free-will.  Man  can  live 
in  his  free-will  as  long  as  he  so  desires,  and  he  will  reap 
as  he  sows. 

Retributive  Justice!  Yes,  man  will  gather  the  har- 
vest, even  as  he  has  sown.  ** Thoughts  are  things,"  and 
man  sets  the  law  of  Cause  and  Effect  into  operation  by 
his  thoughts,  words  and  acts.  God  did  not  make  this  law. 
It  is  the  result  of  man's  deeds;  and  man  will  remain  in 
it  until  he  is  sufficiently  aroused  to  desire  to  find  release 
from  it ;  and  there  is  only  one  way  of  escape,  and  that  is 
to  know  the  True  Law,  which  is  God's  Law, — The  Truth. 

God  is  not  an  angry  God ;  neither  a  God  of  wrath,  that 
His  children  should  suffer.  God  is  Love,  and  loveth  and 
careth  for  all. 

Man  can  continue  to  use  the  law  of  Cause  and  Effect 
until  he,  through  reaping  as  he  has  sown,  finds  himself 
in  the  depths  of  despair  and  desperation;  but  man 
should  learn  that  he  can  at  any  time  turn  from  that  law 
unto  the  Eternal  God  and  seek  to  know  the  Truth.  When 


Retributive  Justice,  or,  Restoration         203 

man  learns  the  Truth,  he  will  cease  from  creating  the 
cause  which  results  in  an  undesirable  effect,  and  through 
kindness,  sincerity  and  faith  will  walk  in  the  light  that 
causes  only  good  results. 

When  man  in  the  carnal  state  (who  is  living  either 
consciously  or  unconsciously  in  this  law)  passes  from  this 
plane  through  death,  he  goes  to  the  abode  where  his  acts, 
thoughts  and  deeds  place  him,  and  his  time  of  abode  there 
depends  upon  his  acts  while  in  the  body.  When  that 
time  expires,  he  returns  to  earth  and  is  re-born  and  lives 
again  in  the  place  where  he  can  repay  the  debt  to  those 
to  whom  he  is  indebted.  There  is  nothing  discouraging 
in  this,  if  man  understands  it.  Saying  that  he  does  not 
believe  it  cannot  change  the  law,  neither  does  it  free  him 
from  his  obligations. 

The  awakening  of  the  man  into  Spiritual  Conscious- 
ness and  the  desire  to  learn  the  way  of  escape  will  en- 
able him  to  step  aside  from  that  wheel  which  rolls  in 
carnality,  and  the  spiritually  awakened  and  enlightened 
one  can  and  will  stand  free,  having  learned  the  Truth 
of  his  Being  and  the  true  Law  of  God  which  governs 
God's  creation.  Then  it  is  that  he  can  concentrate  his 
mind  upon  the  dome  of  heaven  and  there  will  be  no 
clouds  there  intervening  between  him  and  the  blue  sky, 
and  therefore  there  are  no  shadows  in  which  he  must 
stumble  and  walk. 

What  has  caused  the  difference  between  this  concen- 
tration and  that  spoken  of  in  the  beginning  of  this 
chapter?  Understanding.  When  man  has  understand- 
ing and  spiritual  awakening  united  with  concentration, 
all  is  well.  He  then  has  been  removed  from  the  mental 
realm  into  the  Spiritual.  Man  then  does  not  believe 
that  it  is  his  mind  which  does  the  work,  but  understands 
that  the  mind  is  only  the  instrument  in  man  to  reflect 
God's  Power,  Love,  Harmony  and  Peace.  When  the 
mind  is  cleansed  of  the  carnal  beliefs  and  confusions,  it 
then  becomes  a  transparency  and  reflects  God-Mind. 
Thus  man  learns  to  endeavor  to  keep  his  mind  so  clean 


204  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

and  clear  that  there  will  be  only  God^s  mind  in  action 
in  and  through  him ;  for  then  it  is  that  he  learns  he  has 
the  effects  of  his  choice  to  meet,  both  now  and  hereafter. 

Death  does  not  change  man,  any  more  than  passing 
from  one  city  to  another  changes  him,  for  man  must  work 
out  his  own  salvation.  Then  what  is  man  to  do  ?  When 
man  begins  to  perceive  that  there  is  something  wrong, 
he  will  investigate.  He  may  pass  over  many  winding 
paths  ere  he  reaches  the  one  which  leads  to  the  Rock — 
Truth.  However,  there  is  a  direct  path,  and  Isaiah  said, 
''It  is  so  plain  that  a  way- faring  man  though  a  fool  need 
not  err  therein.'*  It  is  the  path  of  Restoration;  for, 
when  man  walks  upon  it,  he  will  reach  Home  and  be  re- 
stored to  his  true  concept  of  himself,  of  God  and  the 
universe  in  which  he  dwells.  When  man  has  returned 
to  His  Father's  House;  to  the  Home  from  which  he  de- 
parted in  the  long  ago,  his  consciousness  has  been  re- 
stored to  him  and  he  sees  that  he  is  a  perfect  man  in 
Mind,  Soul,  Spirit  and  Body,  or  in  Form.  There  is  no 
more  retributive  justice  for  him,  because  he  has,  after 
finding  the  Path  of  Restoration,  traveled  thereupon  un- 
til he  has  been  restored,  until  he  is  at  Home  and  knows 
himself  to  be  a  Son  of  the  Living  God. 

Restoration!  Yes.  Through  the  law  of  Retributive 
Justice  man  encounters  so  many  hardships,  difficulties 
and  unpleasant  experiences,  that  he  finally  awakens  to 
the  fact  that  there  is  something  wrong.  This  sets  his 
reason  into  action  and  it  will  cause  him  to  search  until 
he  finds  the  way. 

The  reason  and  the  intellect  are  the  instruments  used 
until  Intuition  and  Inspiration  are  brought  into  action; 
then  man  is  Spiritually  anchored  and  is  no  more  on  the 
mental  plane.  The  Spiritual  man  is  then  in  the  ascen- 
dancy and  mind  is  his  servant.  There  is  in  reality  one 
mind,  the  God-Mind,  and  this,  individualized,  is  the  only 
Real  Mind  in  Man. 

At  first  we  find  man  with  seemingly  one  mind,  but  that 
is  the  carnal  mind,  and  of  the  earth,  earthy;  it  is  the 


Retributive  Justice,  or,  Restoration         205 

animal  mind  of  man  and  has  no  cognition  of  the  divine 
mind  in  man  of  which  it  is  the  counterfeit.  Man  living 
in  this  counterfeit  mind  walks  upon  the  earth  of  car- 
nality and  is  subject  to  the  laws  governing  the  flesh-man 
and  lives  the  life  of  the  flesh-man.  He  does  not  know 
that  there  is  any  other  mind  or  other  path  until  he 
awakes  sufiiciently  to  begin  to  use  his  reason.  Reason 
is  a  faculty  that  man  has  which  is  not  developed  in  the 
others  of  God's  creation.  When  a  man  awakens  from 
the  Adam-dream  and  uses  his  reason  and  comes  to  the 
conclusion  that  there  is  something  wrong  and  seeks  a 
Spiritual  teacher  for  advice,  let  that  teacher  direct  him 
to  the  message  of  Truth  given  by  Jesus  Christ  and  teach 
him  in  the  Light  of  the  twentieth  century. 

Some  may  ask,  ''Why  direct  him  to  the  message  given 
by  Jesus  Christ  ? "  Because  His  is  the  full  message.  It 
shows  man  the  way  from  the  time  of  his  awakening,  as 
illustrated  by  Nicodemus,  even  to  the  overcoming  of  the 
carnal  mind  and  desires,  disease  and  finally  death. 

Jesus  worked  out  the  problem  in  this  world,  that  man 
might  see  more  clearly  the  way;  for  Jesus  taught  how 
to  step  aside  from  the  Wheel  of  Birth  and  Death  and 
stand  a  Redeemed  Son  of  God.  None  but  a  ripened  Soul 
can  accomplish  this;  but  this  is  the  cycle  when  many 
are  to  be  redeemed;  therefore,  let  all  take  courage  and 
press  forward  toward  the  mark  of  the  high  calling  in 
Christ  Jesus. 

The  night  is  far  spent  and  the  dawn  is  breaking  for 
many  Souls  upon  earth  today,  and  they,  through  insight 
and  perception,  will  pierce  the  veil  and,  lo,  the  Christ 
will  be  revealed  to  them,  and  they  will  see  and  know 
Him  and  be  His  assistants  now  at  the  breaking  up  of 
the  old  conditions  and  the  beginning  of  the  Restoration. 

What  do  we  mean  by  the  Restoration  1  Humanity  has 
swung  far  out  and  it  is  now  time  that  the  pendulum 
return.  Civilization  has  reached  its  zenith  now;  and 
should  not  a  higher  intelligence  than  man's  and  a 
stronger  hand  than  his  guide  and  steer  the  bark  in  which 


206  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

humanity  is  embarked,  civilization  would  decline;  but 
this  is  the  ripening  cycle  and  Divine  Intelligence  and 
Love  will  restore  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  upon  earth  for 
a  short  reign,  which  is  the  seventh  day,  or  one  thousand 
years.  Then  the  carnal  mind  will  come  into  expression 
again  and  the  earth  and  its  inhabitants  will  move  along, 
cycle  after  cycle  until  another  ripening-time  arrives. 
So  on  and  on  throughout  the  endless  Ages  of  Eternity, — 
thus  it  is.  But  man  who  knows  the  Truth  and  has  been 
restored  to  his  true  concept,  rests  in  God,  moves  in  His 
Will  and  is,  in  love  and  gratitude,  earnestly  about  his 
Father's  business. 

Retributive  Justice,  or,  Restoration ! — a  volume  could 
be  written  upon  these  subjects.  However,  we  will  con- 
dense into  a  short  chapter  sufficient  to  enable  the  observ- 
ing student  and  devotee  to  find  his  way  in  his  ongoing, 
when  he  comes  where  he  requires  these  instructions. 

The  man  who  has  reached  the  place  of  Restoration  is 
freed  from  the  law  of  Cause  and  Effect  and  has  stepped 
aside  from  the  wheel  of  Birth  and  Death.  However,  it 
is  well  for  him  to  know,  that  it  is  necessary  for  him  to 
be  vigilant  in  season  and  out  of  season;  for  he  has  not 
scaled  the  final  heights,  although  it  may  seem  so  to  him ; 
but  there  are  heights  to  ascend  of  which  he  has  no  con- 
ception. This  earth  at  its  best  is  only  a  preparatory 
school ;  therefore,  it  behooves  all  men  to  learn  well  their 
lessons  and  gain  the  enlightenment  which  will  enable 
them  to  pass  finally  from  this  earth-school.  How  long 
time  this  will  require,  none  but  the  Father  knoweth. 

By  staying  the  mind  upon  God  and  opening  the  heart 
that  it  may  become  filled  with  the  Love  and  Spirit  of 
God,  man  will  continue  to  move  onward  into  Restoration ; 
but  know  ye  this :  final  restoration  is  when  the  man,  in 
his  four-fold  nature,  has  returned  Home  to  Paradise  to 
the  Bosom  of  the  Father.  Man's  four- fold  nature  is  his 
Mind,  Soul,  Spirit,  Body, — and  these,  joined  together 
by  the  Holy  Wedlock,  bring  the  individualized  Holy 
City  into  expression, — and  it  lieth  four-square,  and  has 


Retributive  Justice,  or,  Restoration         207 

four  walls;  but  when  they  are  complete  and  joined  to- 
gether there  is  but  one  wall.  That  Holy  City  is  man, 
the  individualized  manifestation  of  God,  who  has  been 
restored  unto  his  lost  estate  and  stands  Redeemed  in 
Restoration. 

The  priests  may  proclaim,  the  saints  may  sing  and  the 
artist  paint  in  their  efforts  to  express  the  Redemption  that 
is  in  Restoration ;  but  through  all  these  it  remains  unsaid, 
because  the  mind  of  man  cannot  comprehend  the  Great- 
ness and  Grandness  and  the  Light,  Love  and  Beauty  of 
it.  We  will  lay  the  pen  aside  and  leave  the  curtain 
drawn,  as  none  but  the  one  who  enters  there  can  realize 
it,  and  he  cannot  reveal  it  to  men  of  lesser  light.  Then, 
if  man  desires  to  feed  upon  that  Spiritual  bliss,  he  must 
awake,  arise  and  move  forward  upon  the  Path  until  he 
has  reached  that  portal,  when  the  door  will  open  for  him 
and  he  will  be  permitted  to  enter  and  be  initiated  into  a 
higher  order.    Blessed  God !  and  blessed  man ! 

Thus  we  see  that  Retributive  Justice  finally  ends  in 
Restoration.  If  there  were  no  laws  of  Retributive  Jus- 
tice, man,  not  reaping  as  he  sows,  might  sit  sluggishly 
amidst  his  selfish  expressions  and  sleep  long  and  sound, 
and  it  would  require  many  more  cycles  before  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Restoration  could  be. 

Thus  we  see  that  there  is  good  in  the  law  of  Cause 
and  Effect;  in  retributive  Justice,  although  at  first 
glance  it  does  not  so  seem. 

Out  of  any  condition  that  man's  perverted  mind  may 
bring  about  God,  the  All-Loving  Father,  is  able  to  bring 
forth  good  in  the  finishing  up  of  the  cycle  of  events.  Man 
has  lost  his  way  and  cannot  find  it  alone, — then  let  him 
turn  to  the  Infinite  Intelligence  to  guide  him.  When 
thus  guided,  the  rough  places  will  become  smooth  and 
the  desert  filled  with  blossoms  and  the  wilderness 
abounding  with  the  Love  and  Blessings  of  God. 

The  first  step  for  man,  after  he  awakens  to  the  fact 
concerning  the  law  of  Cause  and  Effect,  is  to  endeavor 


208  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

to  live,  so  that  he  acts  only  toward  his  fellow-man  as  he 
''would  they  would  act  toward  him."  This  is  sowing 
good  seed.  Let  man  continue  to  thus  live  and  do  until 
he  steps  entirely  away  from  the  sowing  and  reaping 
condition. 

There  is  nothing  to  fear  or  be  anxious  about.  It  only 
requires  faith,  Love,  righteousness,  devotion,  gratitude 
and  praise.    Amen ! 

If  a  man  thinks  he  is  nearing  the  edge  of  a  precipice 
he  walks  tremblingly ;  but  when  he  knows  his  path  leads 
over  solid  ground,  his  steps  are  firm  and  he  feels  confi- 
dence in  himself  and  in  his  God. 

When  man  understands  the  laws, — those  governing 
the  carnal  man,  and  the  Law  governing  the  Real  Crea- 
tion, including  man — he  walks  firmly ;  his  step  is  strong, 
and  he  is  brave,  because  he,  knowing  something  of  its 
Laws,  has  confidence  in  himself  and  in  God.  Solomon 
said,  ''With  all  thy  getting,  get  understanding."  When 
man  has  understanding  complete,  he  will  walk  out  from 
the  law  of  Cause  and  Effect  and  away  from  the  wheel  of 
Birth  and  Death  into  the  "Glorious  liberty  of  the  Sons 
of  God." 

The  mind  enjoys  dwelling  upon  the  Restoration  of  the 
world  and  the  human  family  to  the  original  estate.  Man 
finds  pleasure  in  restoring  and  establishing  the  perfect 
and  real;  but  not  in  Retributive  Justice.  Yet,  it  as 
necessarily  belongs  to  the  carnal  man's  condition  as  the 
perfect  state  belongs  to  the  Real  Man. 

We  read,  that  man  should  love  God  with  all  his  mind 
and  strength.  It  is  well  to  see,  that  by  keeping  the  mind 
stayed  upon  God,  the  Eternal  Being,  man  becomes  more 
and  more  like  Him  in  expression. 

Retributive  Justice  is  the  "School  master"  which 
guides  man  unto  the  Christ.  When  man  has  reached  the 
Christ,  he  no  longer  requires  the  school  master,  because 
"Grace  and  Truth  come  by  Jesus  Christ."  Jesus  is  the 
Instrument,  and  the  impersonal  Christ  expressed  through 
Jesus.    However,  there  is  more  than  that  in  connection 


209 

with  Jesus  Christ,  because  He  had  arrived  at  the  place 
where  His  personality  was  to  be  merged  into  His  indi- 
viduality ;  and  this  took  place  in  His  ascension.  As  the 
clouds  obscured  Him  from  their  view,  His  physical  body 
merged  into  the  Spirit  form  and  His  Individuality  was 
forever  free  from  personality.  His  last  birth  in  the  flesh 
was  for  the  benefit  of  humanity,  that  they  may  learn 
the  way  out  from  the  illusion  of  the  carnal  man,  his 
mind  and  law.  His  work  was  to  establish  the  Restoration 
and  enable  man  to  learn  his  way  thereunto. 

When  the  Spirit,  Jesus  Christ,  appeared  to  Saul  as 
he  was  on  his  way  to  Damascus,  He  said,  *'Saul,  Saul, 
why  kickest  thou  against  the  pricks  ? ' '  There  is  a  deep 
meaning  conveyed  in  these  few  words.  When  the  time 
had  arrived,  according  to  the  law  of  Cause  and  Effect, 
for  Saul  to  awaken,  why  should  he  longer  kick  against 
the  law,  which  would  continue  to  prick  him,  hurting  him, 
but  doing  him  no  good? 

Saul  asked,  "Who  art  thou,  Lord?"  And  He  an- 
swered, *'I  am  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  whom  thou  persecut- 
est."  Saul  did  not  doubt  this.  Then  Jesus  appeared  to 
Ananias  and  told  him  to  go  to  Saul.  Ananias  did  not 
doubt  its  being  Jesus  Christ,  but  he  said,  ''Lord,  this 
man  is  persecuting  thy  followers  everywhere  and  caus- 
ing them  to  be  put  to  death ; ' '  but  Jesus  told  him  to  go 
to  Saul,  which  he  did,  and  Paul's  sight  was  restored  to 
him. 

Thus  we  see  that  Jesus  Christ  is  working  to  restore  the 
Spiritual  man  into  his  rightful  inheritance.  It  is  the 
Father's  business  He  is  about,  which  business  is  to  estab- 
lish the  Restoration,  which  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 
First,  man  is  to  understand  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
is  within ;  then  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  without, — • 
One  Kingdom. 

When  the  Spiritual  kingdom  is  restored  upon  the  earth, 
Peace  will  reign  Supreme  and  righteousness  abound. 
The  instruments  of  war  will  be  constructed  into  useful 
implements  for  mankind,  and  the  lamb  will  not  fear  the 


210  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

lion;  ''And  none  shall  harm  in  all  my  Holy  Mountain;** 
and  the  earth  shall  be  so  full  of  the  Glory  of  the  Lord 
that  the  Light  of  God  will  light  all  men,  and  they  shall 
know  war  no  more.  Love !  Universal  Love  will  fill  the 
earth  as  the  waters  do  the  sea.  Hear  ye !  ye  men  of  earth, 
Jesus  Christ 's  mission  is  Eestoration ;  and  that  which  He 
has  begun  He  will  accomplish  and  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  will  become  established  upon  earth. 

Cast  thy  burdens  down,  0  man !  at  the  feet  of  the  Liv- 
ing Christ  and  stay  your  mind  upon  the  Living,  Loving 
God,  and  you  will  be  sustained  and  guided,  that  you  may 
assist  the  Heavenly  Hosts  in  establishing  the  Kingdom 
of  Love  and  Harmony  upon  the  earth.  Come  to  the 
fountain  and  drink  of  the  water  of  Life,  Wisdom,  Love 
and  Peace.  The  time  of  Eestoration  is  now  at  hand. 
Tremble  not,  for,  lo,  ''Old  things  shall  pass  away  and 
all  things  become  new.  ^  * 

In  the  midst  of  destruction,  there  is  construction; 
therefore,  fear  ye  not,  0  men  of  earth;  for  God  reigns 
supreme!  and  the  Good  will  again  be  restored  to  its 
rightful  Place.    Amen! 

The  law  of  Retributive  Justice  operates  in  unceasing 
power  in  carnality  through  the  law  of  Cause  and  Effect ; 
but  the  Law  of  God  is  all-sufficient  and  will,  through  the 
Christ,  restore  all  things;  and  man  will  live  in  the  Res- 
toration.   Amen ! 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  DAWN. 

THERE  is  a  psychological  aspect  at  the  hour  of  the 
dawn;  it  is  the  time,  though  short,  between  the 
passing  of  night  and  the  coming  of  day;  and, 
looking  at  the  soft  grey  tints  of  morning  and  watching 
them  change  into  the  warm  glow  of  pink  and  lavender, 
there  will  be  seen  the  golden  rays  of  the  approaching  sun. 

It  is  easy  for  man  to  become  enamored  with  the  beauty 
of  the  dawn  as  the  day  approaches.  However,  the  mind 
of  the  master  is  so  completely  unfolded,  that  it  forgets 
not  the  darkness  of  the  night  through  which  the  earth 
has  passed.  He  also  remembers  the  lessons  he  learned 
during  those  hours  when  darkness  was  king.  He  is, 
therefore,  enabled  to  be  awake  at  the  Dawn  and  to  enjoy 
the  panorama  of  beauty  which  Infinite  Love  causes  to 
be  exhibited  at  the  break  of  day.  For  man  to  endeavor 
to  describe  the  delicate  tintings  of  the  soft  clouds  as  they 
move  softly  back  and  the  curtains  become  so  transparent 
that  the  sun's  rays  will  easily  reach  the  earth  and  its 
inhabitants,  would  be  futile. 

The  solar  sun  is  a  symbol  of  God.  The  sun's  rays  are 
life-giving  to  the  earth  and  all  thereon:  so  God's  Love, 
Life  and  Light  are  life-giving  to  the  Spiritual  Creation, 
which  includes  Man,  the  Universe  and  all  therein. 

At  The  Dawn  there  is  a  chasm,  we  will  call  it  for  ex- 
pression, between  darkness  and  light,  and  the  man  who 
has  insight  and  understanding  should  be  awake  at  The 
Dawn  to  place  himself  in  the  attitude  of  receptivity, 
with  his  mind  stayed  upon  God  and  his  heart  filled  with 

211 


212  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Love  and  his  consciousness  devoid  of  egotism,  selfish- 
ness, and  self -righteousness. 

At  the  psychological  hour  of  dawn,  nature  does  not 
seem  to  breathe;  yet  the  birds  awake  and  their  first 
greeting  is  chirp !  chirp !  chirp !  but  soon  they  burst  forth 
into  a  sweet  melody  which  vibrates  through  the  forest. 
The  wild  animals  awake  in  their  lair  in  response  to  the 
influence  of  that  hour.  The  dewdrops  tremble  in  the 
heart  of  the  rose  and  on  the  tip  of  the  blades  of  grass, 
but  they  remain  in  their  place  and  catch  the  rays  of  the 
rising  sun  and  sparkle  in  gratitude. 

At  the  hour  of  The  Dawn,  the  carnal  world  seems  to 
have  stopped  breathing  for  an  instant  and  the  Real  world 
behind  it  to  have  peeped  through  for  a  short  time.  The 
Spiritually  and  Intellectually  Illumined  one  should  be 
astir  at  that  hour  to  breathe  the  pure  Spiritual  air  un- 
contaminated  by  the  earth's  worn  and  wearying  atmos- 
phere. 

Psychological  ?  Yes !  Because,  all  nature  being  asleep, 
man  can  more  easily  penetrate  the  transparent  cur- 
tain which  hangs  between  ''nature  and  nature's  God." 
When  man  has  pierced  that  curtain,  he  perceives  his  At- 
one-ment  with  God.  It  is  possible  for  man  to  become  so 
illumined  at  that  psychological  moment,  that  he  sees  so 
clearly  through  the  transparency  of  mortality,  that  he 
absolutely  knows  that  he  is  in  the  Perfect  Universe,  sur- 
rounded with  the  Universe  as  God,  Aum,  caused  it  to 
take  form  in  that  long  ago, — at  that  psychological  mo- 
ment, The  Dawn,  he  stands  enraptured  with  the  beau- 
teous surroundings. 

Man  here  can  easily  exclaim,  ''My  Soul  doth  magnify 
the  Lord,"  as  I  stand  in  the  forever-great  and  sweetly 
commune  with  my  God.  Man  there  in  The  Dawn  can 
hear  the  melodies  clear  which  come  from  the  angels  fair 
and  echo  through  the  morning  air,  over  mountain  tops 
and  gorges  deep,  and  vibrate  throughout  the  earth  and 


The  Dawn  213 

touch  with  purifying  fire  the  mind  and  heart  of  its  in- 
habitants. 

The  sun  appears  from  behind  the  curtain  of  night  and 
The  Dawn  is  passed ;  and  carnality  is  astir.  The  curtain 
again  becomes  thick,  and  the  psychological  moment  has 
passed  until  again  the  earth  has  moved  upon  its  axis 
and  The  Dawn  approaches. 

The  Illumined  man  should  ever  be  awake  at  that  hour 
of  dawn,  and  be  about  his  Father's  business,  which  en- 
ables him  to  receive  God's  blessings  sufficiently  in  abun- 
dance to  sustain  him  for  his  ministry  to  his  fellow  man 
throughout  the  day. 

The  Zodiac  is  brought  into  expression  through  the 
mind  of  man,  as  he  studies  man  in  his  natural  state,  and 
nature  and  its  laws;  and  the  system  and  science  of  the 
Zodiac  is  brought  into  manifestation  for  the  enlighten- 
ment of  mankind. 

The  twelve  signs  of  the  Zodiac  represent  the  twelve 
characteristic  expressions  of  man's  nature,  as  he  lives  the 
natural,  or  carnal  life. 

For  man  to  understand  somewhat  concerning  the  signs 
of  the  Zodiac  and  the  laws  which  exist  and  exert  their 
influence  through  nature  and  the  natural  man  is  wis- 
dom. However,  lest  man,  the  searcher  after  Truth, 
should  become  confused  here,  we  will  say,  remember, 
that  the  zodiac,  its  signs  and  the  laws  governing  them, 
belong  to  the  carnal  man  and  his  environments  and  their 
influences  are  upon  him.  It  is  well  for  the  carnal  man 
to  understand  these,  because  through  knowledge  con- 
cerning them  he  may,  if  wise,  escape  many  unpleasant 
experiences.  It  is  well  to  always  recall  to  mind,  that 
the  natural  man  is  of  the  earth,  earthy,  and  is  governed 
by  the  laws  which  pertain  to  the  fleshly  man. 

Hark!  There  is  another  Law,  as  far  above  these  as 
the  sun  is  above  the  moon, — it  is  the  Law  of  the  Intelli- 
gent Being  who  created  the  Solar  System ;  and  His  Law 
is  Supreme. 


214  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

When  man  awakens  from  the  sleep  in  carnality  and 
desires  to  learn  the  Truth  concerning  his  True  Being 
and  God,  who  is  the  Creator,  he  must  soar  far  above  the 
sun,  moon  and  stars  and  their  laws  unto  the  Great  God, 
Himself. 

If  man  will  hoist  the  sails  and  cut  the  rope,  so  that 
he  can  rise  high  enough  above  carnality,  he  will  find 
the  True  Law  and  its  Creator;  and,  should  he  abide  in 
that  height,  he  will  be  permitted  to  come  into  an  under- 
standing of  the  Creator  and  His  true  Law,  which  will 
enable  him  to  return  to  his  carnal  abode  and  live  in  car- 
nality, to  all  outer  appearances,  a  carnal  man;  but,  by 
and  through  that  which  he  has  learned,  he  stands  above 
the  natural  man's  laws;  and  with  this  light,  he  remem- 
bers that  the  teachings  of  the  Nazarene  at  this  point  upon 
the  Path  were,  **  Render  unto  Caesar  those  things  which 
are  Caesar's  and  unto  God  that  which  is  God's." 

Jesus,  no  doubt,  desired  man,  the  awakened  man,  to 
keep  his  understatnding  clear  concerning  the  two  Laws ; 
and  the  enlightened  man  is  the  citizen  who  lives  in  peace 
with  all  men  and  complies  with  the  laws  of  the  land :  but 
he  remembers  that  these  are  the  laws  of  the  carnal  man 
and  not  the  Spiritual  Law  of  God. 

The  hours  preceding  The  Dawn  were  dark  and  man 
slumbered  and  slept  them  away ;  and,  when  the  sun  an- 
nounced the  day  is  at  hand,  many  would  desire  more 
slumber.  These  move  along  through  the  day  and  per- 
form their  duties  or  enjoy  their  pleasures,  but  are  asleep 
in  the  sleep  of  the  carnal  man. 

Sometime  each  man  will  awaken  and  behold  The  Dawn 
and  watch  for  the  approach  of  the  sun  and  with  gladness 
welcome  its  bright,  warm  and  life-giving  rays. 

The  Dawn  is  the  awakening  of  each  Soul,  as  one  by  one 
they  awaken  from  the  Adam-dream  in  carnality ;  and  the 
long  day  is  before  man,  divided  into  four  divisions,  morn- 
ing, noon,  evening,  night :  and  the  symbol  of  a  cycle  has 
passed.     It  depends  upon  the  man  and  his  desire  for 


The  Dawn  215 

Enlightenment,  how  much  light  he  gleans  from  the  day. 

Man  in  the  carnal  concept  of  himself  only,  lives  en- 
tirely for  the  outer  man,  and  he  continues  to  accumulate 
money,  build  houses,  railroads,  steam-boats  and  all  en- 
terprises which  tend  to  enrich  him  or  benefit  mankind; 
but  he  knows,  that  though  he  should  accumulate  money, 
numbered  by  the  millions,  and  own  many  broad  and  fer- 
tile acres,  yet  he  is  powerless  to  stay  the  hand  of  death 
or  erase  the  traces  of  the  advancing  years. 

In  the  carnal  state,  the  seasons  come  and  go  as  the  day 
and  night,  and  these  leave  their  impress  upon  man, 
flower,  grass,  animal,  bird  and  fish;  and,  as  the  chill 
winds  of  winter  blast  the  flowers  and  cause  the  grass 
to  retire  into  the  earth,  so  these  same  blasts  cause  the 
bodies  of  men  to  succumb  and  return  to  the  earth,  '  *  Dust 
to  dust;*'  and  except  man  awakens  and  looks  out  and 
above  the  sun,  moon  and  stars,  unto  the  Living  God, 
there  is  no  way  of  escape. 

But  the  Spiritual  Teachers  of  all  ages,  those  who  have 
awakened  at  The  Dawn  and  bestirred  themselves  so  ear- 
nestly that  they  have  not  slept  again,  have  proclaimed 
there  is  a  way !  There  is  an  inner  depth  which  the  outer 
man  does  not  see.  ' '  There  is  a  Light  which  never  grows 
dim,'*  that  will  light  every  man,  when  he  awakens,  de- 
sires and  seeks  for  it.  Here  the  Master  said,  *  *  Ye  cannot 
serve  God  and  Mammon,"  and,  "Ye  must  be.  born 
again. ' ' 

After  a  man  awakens,  should  he  think,  or  even  hope, 
that  he  can  glean  the  deep  Truth  of  God  and  still  live 
in  the  carnal  man's  concept  of  life  and  ways  of  living, 
let  him  stop  and  believe  it  not ;  for  it  is  a  thing  impos- 
sible. 

Should  man,  after  he  has  gleaned  somewhat  of  the 
Truth  concerning  God,  Man  and  the  Universe  and  God's 
Eternal  Law,  think  he  can  make  merchandise  among  his 
fellow  man  through  this  knowledge,  his  bark  will  some- 
time reach  the  shoals  and  he  will  reap  as  he  sows  and  no 
mental  operation  can  cause  him  to  escape. 


216  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

Some  may  ask,  what  is  it  that  can  assist  man  to  escape 
from  gathering  the  fruit  of  his  own  sowing  ?  It  is  Spir- 
itual Insight. 

When  the  Spiritual  Man,  ''The  image  and  likeness  of 
God/'  is  lifted  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth  and  the 
debris,  the  accumulations  of  ages,  perhaps,  removed  from 
him,  he  responds  to  the  Spirit  of  the  Universe ;  (yea,  the 
myriad  of  systems  of  universes)  which  is  God, — the 
Infinite,  whose  most  sacred  name  is  Aum;  and  he  vi- 
brates with  the  Spirit  which  is  God  and  the  Law  gov- 
erning the  Spiritual  Universe  and  Man. 

Take  the  world  as  man  sees  it,  as  he  moves  through 
life ;  everything  which  he  sees  in  nature  has  a  Spirit  form 
back  of  it,  which  is  the  Spiritual  Creation;  and  that 
which  man  sees  in  nature,  a  tree,  flower,  or  grass ;  sand, 
sea  or  mountain,  is  the  outer  expression  of  the  Real. 

The  woodman  may  chop  down  the  tree  and  cut  it  into 
wood  and  burn  it,  but  he  has  only  chopped  and  burnt  the 
outer  expression  of  the  tree.  And  no  man  is  able  to 
even  so  much  as  touch,  or  disturb,  the  Real  Tree.  Herein 
lies  a  deep  Truth ;  which  if,  or  when,  understood  by  the 
Spiritually  awakened  man,  will  enable  him,  as  he  arises 
into  that  Realization,  to  shake  off  the  diseases  which  be- 
long to  the  carnal  man. 

The  carnal  man  is  the  natural,  or  outer  expression  of 
the  Spiritual  or  Real  man;  and,  when  man  knows  the 
Truth  fully,  he  will  see  clearly,  that  these  things  which 
pertain  to  the  outer  or  natural  man  cannot  affect  the 
Spiritual  Man.  Now  note,  the  natural  man  is  under 
and  subject  to  the  natural  laws  and  the  Spiritual  Man 
is  subject  to  the  Spiritual  Law.  Someone  may  ask,  * '  How 
can  this  be?'*  By  this  question  we  see  that  this  man  is 
not  illumined;  therefore,  he  believes  himself  flesh;  but 
he  is  sufficiently  awake  to  know  that  there  is  something 
within  him  which  escapes  the  grave  when  he  comes  to 
death;  and  the  Indian  hopes  for  a  "happy  hunting 
ground,''  and  the  civilized  man  for  a  heaven  in  the 
by-and-by. 


The  Dawn  217 

When  man  really  learns  that  this  outer  garment,  which 
he  sees  as  flesh,  is  not  he !  only  the  house  which  he,  the 
Real  Man,  inhabits ;  he  will  perceive,  when  he  comes  into 
an  understanding  where  he  can  live  in  the  inner  concept 
of  his  Eeal  Self  (and  not  in  the  carnal  belief  of  himself), 
when  sickness  overtakes  the  body  of  flesh,  he,  from  the 
center  of  his  Spiritual  consciousness  of  his  Real  Self 
which  dwells  within  the  outer  house,  can  announce  to 
the  disease,  or  pain,  that  it  cannot  touch  or  cause  him  to 
suffer.  Why?  Because  the  house  is  not  the  man;  but 
the  man  has  dominion  over  the  house  when  he  has  learned 
the  Truth  of  his  Being. 

When  man  in  his  Spiritual  Light  speaks  to  the  pain 
or  disease  which  has  attacked  the  outer  house,  realiz- 
ing his  God-given  dominion  over  his  whole  earth,  his 
body  responds  in  Harmony  and  Health.  This  is  where 
Truth  is  in  command  of  the  Spiritual  man;  and  his 
body  responds  in  Harmony  and  Health.  This  is  where 
the  Spiritually  awakened  begin  their  work  with  self. 
At  first  they  require  assistance,  and  perhaps  many  times, 
until  they  arrive  at  the  place  where  Realization  of  their 
Spiritual  Being  is  clear  enough  to  erase  the  appearance 
called  pain  or  disease.  This  is  The  Dawn.  But  press  on, 
for  the  morning  hour  approaches,  when  the  sun  will 
shine  bright  and  soon  the  noon  hour  is  at  hand.  And 
much  more  is  required  of  the  man,  in  his  full  noon-hour 
strength,  than  at  the  Dawn,  when  he  first  awakens. 

We  read  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  *  *  God  created 
man  in  His  image  and  likeness"  and  ''endued  man  with 
dominion  over  the  earth,  the  sea,  fish,  fowl  and  animal. ' ' 

The  earth  referred  to  is  man's  natural  body,  which  he 
inhabits  while  he  lives  in  the  carnal  concept  of  himself 
and  the  world.  Man  has  not  dominion  over  his  fleshly 
tabernacle  until  he  awakens  and  perceives  the  Truth. 

When  man  learns  the  Truth  of  his  Being  and  the  law 
governing  it,  he  then  has  a  great  task  before  him;  for, 
through  understanding  and  insight,  he  will  bring  him- 
self unto  the  place,  where  he  becomes  so  conscious  of  his 


218  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Divine-Sonship,  that  he  can  talk  familiarly  to  the  Father 
and  nestle  closely  upon  His  Bosom  and  feel  His  everlast- 
ing Arm  about  him,  and  thus  cradled,  rest  secure  from 
all  harm. 

At  The  Dawn  when  man  awakens  and  begins  to  use 
his  reason  and  has  his  own  problem  to  solve  and  work 
out  to  the  final,  while  yet  no  man  can  do  this  for  him, 
man  cannot  accomplish  this  great  task  alone.  When 
man  first  awakens  into  this  new  Light,  he  may  think  that 
he  will  be  able  through  his  mind  to  accomplish  this  and 
alone.  That  is  the  first  degree  initiation  and  is  good, 
but  there  are  grades  far  above  this.  While  the  mind 
is  ever  an  instrument  to  use,  it  of  itself  cannot  scale 
the  heights.  It  can  only  lift  the  man  as  far  as  the  in- 
tellectual; and,  when  man  desires  to  pass  further  upon 
the  Path,  his  Spiritual  Self  must  be  awakened.  Here 
is  where  the  New  Birth  comes  in,  for  man  must  be  born 
again  to  pass  from  the  carnal  concept  into  the  Spiritual 
nature. 

The  intellectual,  or  mental,  man  is  cold,  and  very  often 
selfishness  still  remains  in  a  well  developed  state  within 
him;  but  the  Spiritually  awakened  man,  the  one  with 
the  Spiritual  Baptism,  who  has  the  Holy  Spirit  within 
him,  is  tender  and  kind  to  his  fellow  man,  because  he  has 
passed  into  the  degree  where  universal  brotherhood  is 
recognized  and  will  in  time  be  established  upon  the  earth. 

The  carnal,  or  natural  man,  sleeps  through  the  night ; 
but  at  the  Dawn,  that  pschychological  moment,  he  awak- 
ens and  begins  to  use  his  reason.  He  then  moves  out  into 
the  mental,  the  first  step ;  then  at  the  third  hour  of  the 
day,  we  see  him  come  to  another  step  upon  the  Path,  and 
his  initiation  here  is  the  New  Birth  which  comes  from 
above,  from  our  Father  who  is  in  Heaven.  It  is  that 
Divine  influx  of  power  which  came  to  the  disciples  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  when  they  were  all  gathered  together 
in  one  place,  of  one  accord — in  harmony  of  mind,  by 
believing  the  same  teachings  and  trusting  in  the  same 


The  Dawn  219 

Principle.  Jesus  told  them  to  tarry  in  Jerusalem  until 
they  received  this  baptism ;  hence  they,  in  answer  to  the 
prayers  of  Jesus  to  the  Father,  received  that  Divine 
influx  of  power  from  God  which  so  quickened  them,  that 
they  were  filled  with  righteous  boldness  in  proclaiming 
the  Truth  as  they  had  received  it  from  Jesus,  in  precept 
and  through  practice. 

That  initiation  took  place  at  the  third  hour  of  the  day, 
and  at  noon  they  came  to  another  initiation,  and  bravely 
stood  their  tests  and  gave  the  message  of  Truth  as  they 
received  it. 

St.  Peter,  though  only  a  fisherman,  was  imbued  with 
the  power  of  God  and  so  fearlessly  preached  the  Truth 
after  his  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  his  Spiritual  birth, 
that  his  name  is  immortal  wherever  the  Christian  relig- 
ion is  taught ;  and,  in  Rome  St.  Peter 's  catehdral  stands 
a  representative  of  the  power  of  the  man  who  has  the 
Spiritual  Birth. 

After  man  receives  this  new  birth,  he  begins  to  live 
in  the  Spiritual  side  of  his  being ;  but  here  he  finds  that 
his  mind  has  not  as  yet  been  tamed,  as  it  is  still  the 
tramping  ground  of  the  adversary,  spoken  of  in  the  Bible 
as  the  devil;  and  it  portends  a  long  time  for  many  ini- 
tiates until  they  learn  how  to  live  in  the  Spiritual  Self 
and  be  guided  by  the  Father,  and  subdue,  yet  appreciate, 
the  mind. 

The  Divine  Power  which  comes  to  man  at  his  Spiritual 
Birth  is  so  great  and  the  vibrations  become  so  high  that 
man's  body  can  scarcely  endure  them  until  he  under- 
stand the  Laws  which  govern  in  that  degree  of  unfold- 
ment.  Man  passes  through  a  period  of  temptations.  We 
read  that  after  Jesus  was  baptised  He  was  tempted  in 
the  wilderness.  If  Jesus  endured  temptations,  how  can 
man  of  lesser  degree  of  understanding  expect  to  escape  ? 
Wilderness  is  not  a  desert,  as  a  desert  is  barren,  while 
the  wilderness  may  have   flowers,   fruit,   grass,  trees, 


220  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

mountains  and  rivers.  It  is  a  wild  uninhabited  place 
having  no  highway  and  no  direct  roads. 

When  Jesus  confronted  the  great  temptation  from  the 
enemy  of  all  mankind,  it  was  something  like  this — ' '  Now 
you  are  hungry;  use  that  power  which  you  know  you 
have  within  you  and  cause  these  stones  to  be  made 
bread. '*  But  Jesus  exclaimed,  ''Get  thee  behind  me, 
Satan.  * ' — '  *  Tempt  not  the  Lord,  thy  God. ' '  If  Jesus,  the 
Great  Initiate,  was  tempted,  let  not  man  think  that  after 
he  receives  the  Spiritual  Birth  he  will  escape,  because 
the  tests  come  at  the  initiation  and  all  candidates  must 
pass  through  the  intiation  ere  they  are  recognized  mem- 
bers of  the  Esoteric  Fellowship. 

Let  not  man  become  discouraged  when  the  fiery  tests 
come,  after  he  has  received  the  New  Birth.  If  these  tests 
seem  severe,  ask  the  Father  to  lead  you  to  one  of  His 
anointed  ones  who  can  explain  to  you  those  things  which 
you  need  to  know  to  strengthen  your  faith ;  and  the  Lov- 
ing Father,  who  heareth  even  the  call  of  the  sparrow,  will 
guide  you  to  one  of  His  little  ones  who,  through  the  les- 
sons he  has  learned  in  passing  through  his  initiations, 
can  assist  and  advise  you. 

The  carnal  man's  awakening  at  The  Dawn  is  the  call 
of  righteousness  to  the  carnal  or  intellectual  man;  and 
the  New  Birth  is  Life's  call  at  the  Dawn  to  the  Spiritual 
man,  which,  hearing,  the  two  pass  onward  together  hand 
in  hand  unto  the  noon  hour,  when  the  time  approaches 
for  another  initiation,  the  third,  which  bears  a  significant 
number  and  is  significant. 

The  first  part  of  the  third  initiation  takes  place  within 
man.  "When  man  desires  this  initiation  he  has  arrived  at 
this  point  upon  the  Path  through  Insight,  Understand- 
ing, Prayer,  Devotion,  Meditation  and   Concentration. 

This  which  takes  place  is  the  Holy  Wedlock  within 
man,  where  his  four-fold  natures  are  joined  together, — 
Mind,  Soul,  Body,  or  Form.  These  are  joined  in  this 
Holy- Wedlock  by  the  Holy  Breath  of  God  and  are  sealed 
by  Infinite  Wisdom. 


The  Dawn  221 

The  prodigal  son  has  now  returned  Home  to  his 
Father's  House,  and  the  Father  places  the  robe  of  Right- 
eousness upon  him,  which  robe  is  his  pure  Spiritual 
Body ;  and  the  Father  places  the  ring  upon  his  hand, — • 
the  ring,  a  symbol  of  unity  between  the  initiate  and  the 
Father. 

Jesus  Christ  passed  through  the  third  initiation  when 
he  ascended  above  their  vision,  when  His  body  became 
pure  Spirit-Substance  and  the  ring  of  unity  was  placed 
upon  His  hand,  uniting  Him  with  the  Father,  and  His 
vibrations  became  so  high  that  those  living  in  the  other 
dimension  could  not  see  Him. 

After  a  candidate  has  passed  through  the  initiations, 
be  it  the  first  or  third,  he  may  almost  smile  at  those 
things  which  seemed  so  dark  and  mysterious  before  he 
understood  them. 

From  the  time  man  awakens  at  the  Dawn,  he  moves 
out  upon  the  Path  and  travels  its  winding  way  through 
carnality,  mingling  with  those  who  are  still  asleep.  He 
is  awake  and  his  reason  urges  him  onward  until  he  ar- 
rives at  the  third  hour  of  the  day.  When  he  reaches 
this  point  upon  the  Path,  he  perceives  that  there  is  some- 
thing lacking.  He  may  not  know  what  that  lack  is,  be- 
cause he  has  become  a  Master  only  in  the  mental  realm ; 
but  the  unrest  within  him  causes  him  to  perceive  that 
he  has  not  satisfaction ;  the  mind  alone  is  unable  to  give 
or  bring  into  expression  the  Spiritual  which  alone  can 
satisfy.  The  urge  of  the  Soul  causes  him  to  perceive 
that  it  is  Spiritual  Food  which  he  desires.  As  there 
came  a  time  when  man  grew  tired  of  feeding  upon  the 
husks  of  the  carnal  nature 's  desires,  so  there  came  a  time 
when  the  mental  alone  fails  to  satisfy ;  and  here  is  where 
the  man  is  nearing  the  preparatory  perfection  for  the 
second  initiation,  which  brings  him  unto  the  Spiritual 
Realm ;  here  he  learns  that  it  is  ' '  God  who  giveth  the  in- 
crease," instead  of  his  own  mind,  whether  that  satisfac- 
tion be  in  money,  health,  strength  or  a  sense  and  time- 
thinking  mind.     There  often  seems  to  be  a  retracing 


222  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

period  here,  because  much  that  has  been  accomplished 
through  the  mental  in  the  self-will  presents  itself  to  be 
met  and  mastered  in  the  Spiritual  understanding  through 
the  spirit  of  God. 

This  is  the  second  dawn  and  second  degree,  and  its 
Path  lies  through  a  country  strange  to  the  new  initiate ; 
but  let  him  remember  that  there  are  initiates  upon  the 
Path  to  assist  at  every  point;  and  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
Great  Initiate  who  oversees  all.  Therefore,  when  man 
requires  guidance  at  any  point  upon  the  Path,  let  him 
ask  of  the  Father  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ ;  because, 
the  promise  of  Jehovah  is,  that  He  will  answer  when  the 
prayer  is  spoken  in  that  name. 

Let  not  the  searcher  after  Truth  permit  his  mind  to 
become  attached  to  the  tests;  neither  to  the  initia- 
tions ;  because  there  is  Light  over-shining  the  Path  from 
the  Father;  and  there  are  many  upon  the  Path.  Even 
though  man  must  work  out  his  own  salvation,  and  do  this 
within  himself,  he  will  find  many  in  the  same  degree ; 
these  are  here  his  companions,  until  he,  or  they,  pass 
further  along. 

This  is  the  Sacred  Path ;  it  leads  to  the  summit  of  the 
mountain,  and  the  mountain  is  Truth,  its  base,  one  solid 
rock  of  Truth,  which  neither  time,  storm,  death  nor  pesti- 
lence can  shake ;  it  stands, — the  Eternal  Rock  of  Ages. 

Awake  thou,  who  are  still  sleeping  in  carnality;  ap- 
proach the  dawn  and  step  upon  the  Rock,  which  is  the 
base  of  the  mountain;  and  there  stand  until  you  have 
wisdom  sufficiently  clear  and  strong  to  enable  you  to  be- 
gin the  ascent.  It  is  a  beautiful  mountain.  There  are 
ever-green  trees,  cool  and  refreshing  streams  and  luscious 
fruits  upon  either  side  of  the  Path;  and  Infinite  Love 
desires  you  to  drink  of  this  cool,  sparkling  water  as  you 
pass  along,  and  to  eat  the  fruits.  These  are  the  bless- 
ings which  the  Loving  Father  has  placed  there  for  His 
little  ones  as  they  return  Home  to  Him  upon  this  Path. 

The  Infinite  knows  the  place  where  every  one  is  trav- 
eling, be  it  the  one  in  the  carnal  dream  sound  asleep,  or 


The  Dawn  223 

the  one  who  has  approached  the  first  Dawn,  or  the  one 
who  is  standing  at  the  Portal  of  the  second  Dawn,  the 
New  Birth,  or  the  one  far  upon  the  Path — so  far,  that 
it  is  the  noon-hour  and  the  Soul  stands  in  the  Portal  of 
the  Third  Initiation. 

Eest  assured  that  the  Infinite,  our  Father-Mother,  is 
with  each  and  every  one ;  and,  according  to  their  ability 
to  receive  it,  will  He  bless  them,  which  ability  comes  by 
and  through  understanding  and  insight,  out  from  which 
spring  Love,  Trust,  Faith,  Devotion,  Meditation  and  Con- 
centration. 

Some  get  lost  for  a  time  in  concentration,  others  in 
meditation,  others  in  devotion,  others  in  prayer;  while 
the  Sage  has  learned  that  it  requires  all  of  these  coupled 
together  in  each  and  every  man,  to  enable  him  to  stand 
forth  a  master. 

Man  *s  destiny  is  Mastership  !  Mastership  over  what  ? 
Over  the  carnal  dream.  This  is  the  illusion  which  man 
believes  true  concerning  God,  man  and  the  world  in 
which  he  lives.  A  Master  is  Free !  Free  from  all  the  illu- 
sions of  the  carnal  nature. 

When  man  starts  upon  the  Path,  he  soon  finds  that  his 
work  is  with  himself.  He  sees  that  not  only  the  illusions 
concerning  the  outer  canditions  must  be  removed,  but 
that  he  must  set  about  to  eliminate  his  carnal  nature. 
What  constitutes  man^s  carnal  nature?  Selfishness,  lust, 
passion.  Selfishness  is  the  strongest  stone  in  the  carnal 
nature ;  for  out  of  this  spring  many  of  the  evil  propensi- 
ties of  the  carnal  mind, — anger,  hatred,  malice,  jealousy, 
envy,  evil  desires  and  the  tongue,  which  a  Sage  has  said, 
''No  man  can  tame."  This  tongue  must  be  bridled, — 
by  the  mind  first,  and  later  by  the  Spirit. 

In  the  Dawn  of  the  day,  there  is  peace  and  man  feels 
hope  stirring  within  his  breast  as  he  arises  and  passes 
into  the  day  and  the  great  world  about  him  and,  if  he  has 
trust  in  God,  the  Ever-Present  Love,  and  His  Grace,  he 
will  ask  to  be  guided  by  God  in  all  things. 


224  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

If  man  has  only  awakened  into  the  mental  and  believes 
that  his  mind  accomplishes  all,  he  will  make  his  declara- 
tions and  trust  in  them.  If  he  is  still  in  the  carnal  state, 
he  only  trusts  in  himself,  and,  if  confident  in  his  own 
strength,  wisdom  and  ability,  all  may  go  well  with  him 
for  a  time ;  but  there  will  come  a  day,  when  he  will  dis- 
cover that  he  of  himself  can  do  nothing ;  and  he,  perhaps, 
ere  this,  has  lost  confidence  in  his  fellow  man;  where 
then  can  he  turn?  **Man*s  extremity  is  God's  oppor- 
tunity," and  many  times  when  man  has  reached  the 
limit  of  his  own  strength,  God  reveals  Himself  to  man 
so  sweetly  and  lovingly,  that  his  faith  is  kindled  within 
him  and  he  arises  and  learns  to  Love,  trust  and  revere 
that  Being,  Who  is  so  near,  yet  so  invisible,  and  yet  so 
Powerful. 

Be  not  discouraged,  0,  man ;  it  matters  not  where  you 
are  upon  the  Path;  you  cannot  depart  entirely  from  it 
and  God's  Love  and  Care  broods  over  all;  even  if  in  a 
prison  cell;  with  God  there  is  no  respecter  of  persons. 
Jesus  proved  this,  for  He  went  while  His  body  lay  in 
the  tomb  and  preached  to  the  spirits  in  prison.  His  Love 
was,  and  is  so  great,  that  He  desired  the  spirits  in  prison 
to  learn  the  Truth,  so  that  they,  through  insight  and  un- 
derstanding, might  turn  from  that  path,  which  leads 
unto  sorrow  and  misery,  to  the  Path  which  leads  toward 
the  Promised  Land,  which  can  be  reached  here  in  this 
world  without  passing  through  death,  if  man  gains  in- 
sight and  understanding  of  the  Truth  concerning  him- 
self, his  God  and  the  world,  and  the  Spiritual  Universe 
and  its  Laws.  Then  he  will  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the 
Master. 

Knowing  is  a  quality  which  is  required  before  man  can 
return  to  the  Father's  House,  that  Paradisical  state 
from  whence  he  departed  in  the  long  ago.  Men  were  in- 
nocent babes  then,  but  now  each  is  compelled  to  become 
a  conscious  Son  of  God  ere  he  can  return  Home.  Faint 
not,  our  brothers  and  sisters,  for  God  will  sustain  you, 
if  you  ask  and  trust  in  Him.     Tremble  not,  our  sisters 


The  Dawn  225 

and  brothers  as  you  pass  through  the  experiences  of 
earth;  for  God  and  His  angels  are  ever  with  you;  and 
Jesus,  the  Elder  Brother,  has  said,  He  will  come  and 
walk  by  your  side,  if  you  ask  Him. 

The  way  may  look  dark,  but  believe  it  not ;  for  God  is 
Light,  and  everywhere  present;  then  look  up  and  away 
from  the  old  way  of  looking  at  things  and  seek  the  ever- 
present  God  and  become  conscious  that  you  are  not  alone ; 
and,  even  though  your  sins  are  as  scarlet,  they  will  in  the 
Presence  of  the  Loving  God  become  white  as  snow. 

When  the  woman,  with  the  burden  of  condemnation  of 
those  no  better  than  she,  was  brought  to  Jesus,  He,  after 
He  had  received  their  testimony,  said  to  the  woman,  ' '  I 
do  not  condemn  thee ;  go  and  sin  no  more. ' '  Jesus  there 
advised  the  woman  to  turn  from  that  path,  where  the 
inexorable  law  of  Cause  and  Effect  is  in  operation,  unto 
the  Path,  which  is  the  Spiritual-Path  and  leads  away 
from  carnality  to  the  base  of  the  mountain ;  and,  if  any 
one  will  take  a  firm  stand  upon  that  rock  of  Truth,  he 
will  be  enabled  to  move  upon  the  Path  into  the  Spir- 
itual plane,  getting  away  from  the  carnal  man,  his  de- 
sires, lusts,  passions,  ambitions  and  selfishness. 

This  is  not  accomplished  through  dying, — ^not  so !  Man 
may  die  and  go  to  heaven  many  times,  but,  until  he  has 
mastered  his  animal  nature,  he  will  return  to  earth,  when 
his  merit  in  the  glory  land  has  expired. 

Heaven  cannot  be  reached  by  a  single  bound ;  neither 
hell  escaped  through  fear  of  an  angry  God. 

Remember,  God  is  Light,  Love,  Peace,  Intelligence. 
Then  what  is  there  to  fear?  God  has  said,  "None  shall 
harm  thee  in  all  My  holy  mountain. ' '  God  also  spake  in 
the  seeming  long  ago,  and  said,  **Be  still  and  know  that  I 
am  God.*'  Let  man  use  his  reason  here  just  a  little;  if 
God  is  everywhere  present,  and  He  said,  "Be  still,  and 
know  that  I  am  God,"  why  should  man  fear?  There  is 
no  reason  for  fear  and  anxiety ;  these  belong  in  the  place 
where  Gautama  Buddha,  the  Hindu  Sage,  placed  them. 
After  he  had  been  seven  years  in  the  jungles,  having  re- 


226  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

nounced  the  world  (carnality),  he  one  day  was  sitting 
under  the  tree,  when  his  illumination  came  and  he  ex- 
claimed, ** Ignorance  is  the  cause  of  all  misery."  Jesus 
Christ,  about  five  hundred  years  later,  said,  "Know  the 
Truth,  and  the  Truth  shall  make  you  free. ' '  The  Hindu 
Sage  announced  it  as  it  is  on  the  carnal  path ;  and  Jesus 
Christ,  having  come  to  restore  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven, 
told  us  what  we  should  do  to  escape  the  ignorance  and  its 
results,  over  which  Gautama  had  been  so  greatly  dis- 
turbed. 

If  all  men  who  are  awakened,  it  matters  not  at  what 
point  upon  the  Path  they  stand,  will  diligently  set  about 
to,  as  much  as  within  them  lies,  establish  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  harmony,  upon  the  earth,  the  coming  of  that 
kingdom  could  soon  be  ushered  in. 

If  each  awakened  one  will  endeavor  to  let  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven  become  manifest  within  him,  he  will  have 
his  part  in  the  establishing  of  the  new  conditions  upon 
the  earth. 

This  is  The  Dawn  of  the  new  day,  when  the  nations 
shall  know  war  no  more,  and  peace  become  established 
in  man's  heart  and  mind  and  expressed  in  the  world 
about  him. 

The  rock  of  Gibraltar  is  not  disturbed  by  the  billows 
which  dash  against  it,  but  stands  serenely,  steadfast  and 
immovable.  So  Truth,  the  Eternal  Rock  of  Ages,  stands 
immovable  and  serene;  not  disturbed  by  war  or  rumors 
of  war  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth,  among  those  who 
are  living  in  the  law  of  Cause  and  Effect.  Remember 
this,  each  man  is  where  the  inexorable  law  places  him; 
and  none  save  God,  Himself,  can  change  this. 

The  prophecies  in  the  Bible  say,  in  the  ending  of  the 
old  dispensation,  except  the  days  of  tribulation  be  short- 
ened, there  will  be  no  flesh  left  upon  the  earth.  It  then 
behooves  every  Saint  of  earth  to  join  in  prayer  that '  *  The 
Father 's  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  Heaven ; ' '  that 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  be  established  upon  the  earth. 


The  Dawn  227 

Prayer  is  the  one  thing  needful  at  all  times  and  in  all 
places.  Then  let  men  come  into  understanding  and  In- 
sight, that  they  may  learn  how  to  pray.  The  prayer  of 
the  self-mind  is  only  mockery.  Let  us  join  in  the  prayer 
which  is  so  broad  and  deep  that  it  includes  all  men,  races 
and  nations,  desiring  that  all  will  awaken  from  the  les- 
sons which  have  been  learned  while  passing  through 
earth's  experiences  and  step  from  the  carnal  man's  law 
into  the  Spiritual  Law,  and  live,  move  and  have  their 
being  consciously  in  that  Law,  when  they  will  stand  se- 
rene on  sea,  desert,  mountain  and  plain,  and  tremble  not ; 
for  Love  reigns  supreme,  and  out  from  the  dust  of  the 
ages,  God,  the  Infinite  Intelligence,  Love  and  Power, 
will  for  them  cause  Blessings  to  abound. 

Let  not  the  eye  scan  the  disturbances  in  these  times, 
but  turn  to  the  reconstruction,  as  Jesus  Christ  teaches. 

The  Dawn  is  now  approaching  and  the  psychological 
hour  is  near  and  many  men  will  be  redeemed  and  the 
cycle  will  move  on  to  the  third  hour,  then  to  noon,  and 
then  to  the  decline  which  shadows  into  the  night. 

Ages  after  ages  roll  along,  but  Truth  remains  Eternal 
and  changeth  not. 

When  man,  through  Insight  and  Understanding,  looks 
calmly  into  the  outer  world  as  it  is  and  deeper  into  the 
inner  depths,  he  will  anchor  his  mind  and  heart  deep  into 
the  Heart  of  the  Eternal  God  and  serenely  stand ;  and  so 
firm  will  he  be  established  in  the  deep  Heart  of  God,  that 
the  dust  of  ages  may  settle  over  him  and  he  perceive  it 
not;  for  he  is  looking  within,  where  his  heart  is  joined 
with  the  Heart  of  the  Infinite,  and,  in  that  center  of  his 
being,  he  is  so  vibrant  with  the  Love  which  is  God  that  he 
is  in  Rhythm  with  the  Music  of  the  Spheres,  and  joins 
the  throng  of  the  Redeemed  Ones,  who  sing  without  dis- 
cord their  glad  hosannas  to  their  God.  The  Dawn  ap- 
proaches and  passes,  but  he  considers  it  not,  for  he 
is  in  the  consciousness  of  Insight  where  time  has  ceased 
and  Eternity  is. 


228  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

Ring,  thou  bells  of  Heaven!  Ring!  until  all  respond 
thereto  and  join  the  glad  refrain, ' '  Holy !  Holy !  Holy ! ' ' 
So  be  it ! 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  FLASH-LIGHTS  OF  TRUTH. 

IN  order  to  understand  what  we  wish  to  convey  by 
the  Flash-Lights  of  Truth,  it  is  necessary  to  portray 
as  much  as  is  possible  the  essence  of  that  inexpres- 
sible Essence  called  Truth. 

Jesus  Christ,  in  His  efforts  to  teach  this  same  Truth  to 
His  disciples,  said  to  them,  ^*I  am  the  way,  the  Truth 
and  the  Life.'^  This  Flash-Light  of  Truth  was  spoken 
from  the  inner  consciousness  of  the  Christ  through  the 
mouth  of  the  personal  man  Jesus.  He  also  said,  *'My 
words  are  Spirit,  and  they  are  Life."  These  words 
spoken  by  Jesus  the  Christ  were  Flash-Lights  of  Truth. 

Words  spoken  from  the  Christ  within  man  are  Flash- 
Lights  of  Truth,  spoken  through  the  lips  of  the  outer 
man  to  quicken  mankind.  However,  as  man  hears  and 
heeds  these  words  spoken  by  the  Christ  within  his  own 
being,  or  from  the  center  of  another's  being,  he  will 
learn  to  read  the  hand-writing  upon  the  wall  and,  as  he 
reads  these  Flash-Lights  of  Truth,  written  upon  the  wall 
of  his  interior  mind  by  Christ,  he  will  turn  his  outer  mind 
within  to  read  those  Flash-Lights. 

Man  then  can  see  that  it  is  the  outer  department  of 
man 's  mind  which  is  at  first  reached  or  awakened ;  and, 
when  man  begins  to  examine  the  outer  department  of  his 
mind,  he  finds  unrest,  confusions,  unstability  and,  even 
in  the  most  cultured,  lack  of  poise,  or  equanimity. 

The  outer  department  of  the  mind  is  unstable  and 
unsettled,  even  at  its  moments  of  greatest  serenity,  be- 

229 


230  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

cause  it  is  the  mind  of  earth  and  reflects  the  change- 
able and  fleeting  things  around  it. 

There  is  the  inner  department  of  the  mind,  expressed 
by  some  as  the  subconscious  mind,  and  it  is  on  the  wall 
of  this  mind  that  the  Spirit  begins  to  write,  and,  when 
man  is  fully  awake,  he  will  not  only  be  sufficiently  en- 
lightened to  read  the  writings,  but  he  will  become  so 
quickened  by  these  flash-lights  of  Truth,  that  he  can 
interpret  them. 

It  is  one  stage,  when  the  initiate  upon  the  Path  can 
read  the  flash-lights  of  Truth  as  they  are  written  in 
his  inner,  or  subconscious-mind ;  but  a  much  higher  step 
has  been  taken  when,  through  interpreting  them,  he  can 
bring  them  into  expression  in  his  body,  mind  and  en- 
vironment. 

When  the  mind  is  thoroughly  enlightened,  there  is 
only  one  department,  the  conscious  and  subconscious 
departments  of  the  carnal  mind  being  merged  into  the 
super-conscious,  or  God-Mind. 

Jesus  Christ's  words  ''were  Spirit  and  Life,"  be- 
cause He  consciously  spoke  from  the  Christ  within  Him. 
The  flash-lights  of  Truth  come  to  man  living  in  the 
carnal  life  to  enlighten  him  concerning  the  Truth  of 
his  Being. 

Man,  living  in  the  carnal  state,  knows  not  of  the 
Truth  and  the  Light  therein,  until  he  is  awakened  suf- 
ficiently to  hear  the  words  of  Spirit  and  Life  which 
are  spoken  from  the  Christ  through  some  one  who  has 
scaled  the  heights  and  attained  unto  unity  with  the 
Christ.  The  Christ- Consciousness  is  not  gained  by  a 
single  leap.  Should  the  full  Light  therein  flash  into 
the  mind  of  the  newly  awakened,  the  carnal  man's 
mind  and  body  would  not  be  able  to  receive  it ;  it  in  all 
probability  would  shatter  both. 

Jesus  Christ  knew  from  infancy  His  divinity  and  His 
At-one-ment  with  the  Father.  Jesus,  not  only  knew 
the  Truth  of  His  Being,  as  many  others  before  Him 


The  Flashlight  of  Truth  231 

had  learned  and  become  conscious  of,  but  He  had  the 
consciousness  of  His  Sonship  and  the  ability  to  teach, 
explain  and  prove  these  true  by  His  works,  which  were 
above  the  carnal  man 's  ability  to  achieve ;  even  to  over- 
coming the  last  and  greatest  enemy  to  mankind, — death. 
Death  is  an  enemy  to  the  awakened  Soul  who  is  en- 
deavoring to  solve  his  problems  of  existence  and  at- 
tainment of  freedom  from  birth  and  death;  but  death 
is  a  blessing  to  humanity  living  in  an  unawakened  state. 
Jesus,  being  in  the  Christ-consciousness  and  knowing 
whereof  He  spoke,  worked  out  the  problem  of  man  in 
the  outer  expressions  and  left  His  works  and  rules,  that 
an  awakened  Soul  may  catch  the  flash-Light  of  the 
Truth  of  His  Message  and  follow  Him. 

One  of  the  flash-Lights  is  in  the  words  of  Jesus  which 
said,  ''Follow  me."  If  it  had  been  impossible  for  the 
Spiritually  awakened  man  to  do  so,  the  enlightened 
Christ  would  not  have  proclaimed,  "Follow  thou  me!" 
Jesus  also  said,  "Greater  works  than  these  shall  ye  do, 
because  I  go  to  my  Father." 

To  the  disciples,  whom  Jesus  had  carried  as  deep  as 
was  possible  into  the  mysteries  of  God,  He  said,  "But 
tarry  ye  in  the  city,  Jerusalem,  until  ye  be  endued  with 
power  from  on  high."  Jesus  had  been  with  them  and 
taught  and  expounded  the  scriptures  to  them  and  healed 
the  sick,  raised  the  dead  and  fed  the  multitude  with 
the  increase  of  the  few  loaves  and  fishes  and  had  sent 
the  disciples  out  to  preach;  and,  when  they  returned 
to  Him,  their  report  was,  "even  devils  were  subject 
to  us." 

However,  when  He  was  about  to  leave  them,  He  re- 
vealed to  them  that  their  next  initiation  would  be  the 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  or  New  Birth.  Thus  an- 
other Flash-Light  from  the  Christ-consciousness  of  Jesus 
is,  "Ye  must  be  born  again,  and  from  above." 

While  the  disciples  had  the  personal  Jesus  with  them 
to  inspire  and  assist  them  in  their  ministry,  their  faith 
was  sufficiently  strong  to  carry  them  onward ;  but  Jesua 


232  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

knew,  when  they  could  no  longer  hear  His  assuring 
voice  or  feel  the  strength  of  His  personal  presence,  that 
they  would  require  a  clearer  light. 

In  expression  of  the  faith  which  they  had  in  Jesus 
and  His  teachings,  they  tarried  in  Jerusalem  ''and 
were  of  one  accord  in  one  place'*;  and  the  promise  was 
fulfilled,  and  that  influx  of  divine  power  so  filled  them 
that  they  were  relieved  from  fear  and  Peter  there  arose 
and  boldly  preached  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  who 
now  is  the  Christ !  the  personality  of  Jesus  at  the  ascen- 
sion having  merged  into  the  individuality, — the  Christ. 

The  Infinite  Love  that  broods  over  all  is  continuously 
causing  the  flash-lights  of  Truth  to  touch  humanity  and 
the  awakened  Souls  respond  thereto  according  to  the 
degree  of  awakeness.  When  one  is  sufliciently  awake 
to  understandingly  catch  and  interpret  these  Truths, 
they  give  their  light  to  their  fellow-men ;  and  humanity 
is,  perhaps  slowly,  but  surely,  merging  into  the  Light. 

God's  Love  is  so  great,  that  the  breathing  Heart  of 
God  will  finally  draw  all  Souls  to  its  center,  from  whence 
all  departed  in  the  long  ago.  Grow  not  weary,  brothers, 
though  life's  voyage  is  rough,  dark  or  cold;  there  is 
Light,  Warmth  and  Love  at  Home  in  the  Heart  of  God. 

The  Flash-Light,  the  Truth  of  the  Ages,  says,  * '  Come 
unto  me,  all  ye  that  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give 
you  rest."  The  Voice  of  the  Ages  says,  ''Take  my 
yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  me,  for  I  am  meek  and 
lowly,  and  you  shall  find  the  way." 

The  darker  the  night,  the  more  perceptible  the  Light, 
and  in  the  midst  of  darkness  a  small  ray  sometimes 
seems  sufficient  to  guide  the  step.  The  Flash-Lights  of 
Truth  are  not  fiction,  neither  folly,  nor  inventions  of 
man.  So  deep  is  God's  Love,  so  tender  His  care  and  so 
capable  is  He,  that  all  men  are  continuously  coming  in 
touch  with  these  Lights  of  Truth;  but  the  Father  is 
tender  to  the  men  of  earth,  His  children,  who  have  lost 
their  way  in  the  forest;  and,  though  they  refuse  to  see 
the  Light,  or  heed  the  ' '  Still  Voice ' '  which  would  assist 


The  Flashlight  of  Truth  233 

them,  He  loves  them,  even  though  they  like  naughty 
children  desire  to  tarry  in  the  illusions  of  the  carnal 
man's  concept.  Infinite  Intelligence  knows  this;  that 
all  will  sometime  grow  tired  of  living  in  the  self-will, 
and,  when  they  willingly  surrender  that,  they  will  seek 
the  Father's  Will.  Then  they  will  see  the  flash-light 
of  Truth  and  hear  the  ''Soft,  Sweet  Voice"  of  the 
Father  which  ever  whispers,  "Awake!  thou  that  sleep- 
est,  arise  from  the  dead!"  and  come  up  higher. 

When  man  awakens,  hears  the  still  voice  of  the  Father 
and  looks  towards  the  Source  of  the  Flash-Lights,  he 
will  see  evergreen  fields  and  rivers  of  crystal  water, 
clear  and  cool,  flowing  through  them ;  and  the  cattle  on 
a  thousand  hills  grazing  leisurely,  or  resting  in  the 
shade  of  the  trees  which  are  evergreen  and  bear  their 
fruit  for  mankind. 

The  flowers  bloom  continuously  there  and  the  birds 
with  beautiful  plumage  sing  clearly  and  sweetly,  and 
peace  broods  over  all.  When  man  awakens,  this  vision 
seems  far  away,  and  a  rough  country  between;  but,  as 
he  listens  to  the  ''Still  Soft  Voice,"  he  will  learn  that 
there  is  a  state  of  consciousness  to  become  manifest  in 
man,  which  brings  this  vision  near  and  still  nearer, 
until  he  learns  to  read  the  hand-writing  upon  the  wall 
of  his  interior  mind,  when  he  knows  this  truth  as  the 
Light  flashes  these  words,  "The  kingdom  of  heaven  is 
within  you."  Then,  if  he  is  wise,  he  will  turn  his  mind 
within  and  abide  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  and,  by  so 
doing,  he  will  discern  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  with 
its  evergreen  fields,  beautiful  flowers  and  crystal-clear 
river  of  Life,  is  not  far  away.  'Tis  only  a  few  steps, 
brothers,  after  you  are  thus  spiritually  blessed.  Even 
though  great  distance  seems  to  intervene,  the  Christ 
knows  the  short  Path  which  leads  to  the  pearly  gates. 

When  man  awakens,  he  finds  his  work  begins  within 
himself  and  he  soon  discovers  that  his  mind  has  the 
outer  and  inner  departments;  but,  if  he  desires  any- 
thing higher  than  humanity  can  teach,  he  must  reach 


234  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

into  the  super-conscious  mind, — the  mind  of  God.  The 
carnal  mind,  both  its  conscious  and  subconscious  de- 
partments, is  of  the  earth,  therefore,  it  is  earthly  and 
cannot  guide  man  out  from  this  forest  which  has  be- 
come so  dense  that  it  is  a  wilderness  through  which  the 
earth-mind  knows  not  the  way;  neither  is  it  able  to 
catch  the  flash-light  of  Truth,  and  learn  the  way. 

But  when  the  Soul,  which  is  the  Conscious  Life  of 
man,  is  sufficiently  aroused  to  peep  out  from  the  clois- 
tered cell  of  carnality,  it  soon  perceives  the  Flash- 
Lights  of  Truth ;  and,  as  man  heeds  them,  he  will  apply 
the  Truth  taught  through  them,  knowing  that  they 
are  given  to  the  individual.  Each  man  must  awaken, 
learn  the  Truth  and  pierce  the  curtain  which  hangs  thick 
between  him  and  the  Mystery  of  God  and  the  Universe. 

As  the  Flash-Lights  of  Truth  are  for  the  individual, 
they,  also,  are  for  the  collectivity  of  individuals,  for 
the  Human  Family, — all;  for  each  will  sometime  reach 
Home  and  wear  the  Crown, — its  redeemed  and  glorified 
body. 

When  the  carnal  mind  of  man  is  merged  into  the 
super-conscious,  or  God-Mind,  he  perceives  that  Eternity 
is  at  hand,  even  though  time  is  everywhere  manifest. 
Catch  this  flash-light  of  Truth,  0  man,  and  glean  the 
golden  grain,  for  the  harvest  is  plenteous. 

From  time  immemorial  the  wise  of  earth  have  pro- 
claimed, ''Man,  know  thyself."  It  is  through  the  mind 
that  man  learns  to  know  himself.  When  man  learns  to 
dissect  his  mind  he  will  begin  to  grow  in  knowledge. 

When  man  learns  concerning  the  different  depart- 
ments of  his  mind,  then  gains  understanding  as  to  the 
merging  of  the  outer  and  inner  mind  with  the  super- 
consciousness, — the  Ego,  which  is  the  Real  Self,  and 
sets  about  to  accomplish  this,  he  is  beginning  to  work 
out  his  problem,  or,  as  scriptures  say,  **To  work  out 
his  own  salvation.'* 

Who  can  assist  in  bringing  the  change  about?     We 


The  Flashlight  of  Truth  235 

remember,  that  while  man  must  work  out  his  own  sal- 
vation, ''It  is  God  who  giveth  the  increase."  Jesus 
said,  ''I  of  myself  can  do  nothing.  My  Father  within 
me,  He  doeth  the  work." 

The  Flash-Light  of  Truth  has  shown  bright  upon  this 
statement  of  the  Master;  yet  so  few  have  found  the 
clear  way,  that  today  we  find  very  many  forms  and  cere- 
monies of  prayer. 

The  initiate  who  has  scaled  the  heights  and  is  con- 
sciously near  to  God, — ^yea,  so  near  that  he  can  talk 
and  walk  with  Him  as  Jesus  did, — has  discerned  a 
secret  which  many  searchers  after  Truth  and  Philosophy 
have  failed  to  see.  Man  may,  through  devotion,  and 
keeping  the  mind  stayed  upon  the  Eternal  God,  become 
conscious  of  His  presence  and,  in  faith  walk  and  talk 
with  Him;  but,  to  scale  the  heights  completely,  he  must 
gain  understanding.  King  Solomon  said,  ''With  all 
thy  getting,  get  understanding."  An  understanding 
heart  and  a  believing  mind  are  acceptable  to  Divine 
Love,  to  our  Father-Mother-God. 

Jesus  said,  "Ye  shall  know  the  Truth,  and  the  Truth 
shall  make  you  free."  Then  we  see  that  there  is  some- 
thing for  man  to  know,  some-thing  for  him  to  believe, 
and  for  him  to  understand.  How  is  man  to  know  what 
he  is  to  believe  and  understand?  All  down-  the  ages 
God  has  blessed  humanity  with  Saints,  Sages  and 
Saviours,  who  have  given  the  flash-lights  of  Truth  to 
enable  man,  when  he  has  become  awakened,  to,  through 
"Seeking,  asking  and  knocking,"  find  the  Path  which 
leads  out  from  the  forest  of  carnality. 

When  man  finds  the  Path  and  starts  to  walk  upon  it, 
his  first  work  and  duty  is  to  seek  to  understand  God; 
then  to  know  himself;  then  to  learn  concerning  the 
universe  in  which  he  lives.  When  man  has  learned 
that  the  Infinite  is  our  Father  and  that  He  is  tender 
and  near  and  that  when  man  prays  aright.  He  answers 
prayer, — man,  then,  with  his  eye  stayed  upon  God,  will 
become  conscious  of  his  unworthiness  to  approach  the 


236  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

All-Loving  Father.  It  is  then  man  begins  to  examine 
himself.  If  he  seeks  diligently  and  searches  the  scrip- 
tures, he  will  find  that  he  is  living  in  the  carnal  concept 
of  himself,  having  lost  the  consciousness  of  himself  as 
God  created  him. 

What  is  the  image  and  likeness  of  God?  The  carnal 
man  does  not  express  it.  Then  it  is  necessary  for  man 
to  seek  out  that  image  and  likeness  of  God,  which  he  is. 

How  is  man  to  find  this?  By  turning  his  mind  with- 
in, and,  through  prayer  to  Almighty  God,  meditate 
there,  when  he  will  become  aware  of  the  Divinity  within 
him  and  will  in  time  learn  that  the  outer,  or  carnal 
man,  is  the  counterfeit  of  the  Real  Man,  and  that  this 
outer  man  is  the  one  who  is  to  become  awakened  and 
taught  the  Truth  of  its  Real  Being  until  it  is  redeemed, 
and  redeemed  through  the  blood  of  the  Lamb, — Divine 
Wisdom   and   Love. 

When  man  first  becomes  acquainted  with  himself,  he 
finds  that  his  mind  is  filled  with  the  thoughts,  fears  and 
doubts  which  belong  in  the  mind  of  the  man  who  is 
living  in  carnality. 

He  believes  in  birth,  death,  old  age,  disease,  sorrow 
and  poverty  as  the  Real.  He  believes  the  outer  man 
and  his  experiences  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave  to  be 
the  reality  of  life;  and,  at  death  the  spirit  of  man  de- 
parts, he  knows  not  where;  whereas,  when  he  studies 
deeply  into  the  deep  things  of  God,  he  discovers  that 
the  Real  man  is  that  which  **God  created  in  His  image 
and  likeness,  and  endued  with  power  and  dominion 
over  the  whole  earth,'' — the  earth  is  man's  carnal  mind 
and  its  outpicture  in  a  carnal  body,  which,  being  in 
the  low  vibrations  of  the  earth,  is  matter. 

As  man  **Asks,  seeks  and  knocks"  for  wisdom  and 
understanding  and  his  heart  becomes  purified  from  the 
carnal  desires,  the  vibrations  rise;  and,  as  love  and 
devotion  become  his  daily  companions,  the  vibrations 
continue  to  increase,  and  this  is  the  Path  which  leads 
to  the  ultimate, — which  is  the  Redemption  of  the  body, 


The  Flashlight  of  Truth  237 

or  the  merging  of  the  carnal  man  into  the  Real  Man; 
whom  *'God  created  in  His  image  and  likeness."  How 
long  a  time  this  requireth,  ''No  man  knoweth,  no,  not 
even  the  Son,  but  the  Father.'' 

The  final  redemption  from  birth  and  death  is  a  strong 
flash-light  in  the  message  of  Jesus.  His  is  the  Message 
of  Freedom  to  the  individual  Soul,  who  is  awakened, 
has  passed  through  the  experiences  of  the  earth's  school 
and  has  arrived  at  the  ripening  cycle.  Then  the  mes- 
sage of  Jesus  is  for  him;  and,  if  he  gleans  the  Truth 
taught  by  the  humble  Nazarene,  he,  through  insight, 
understanding  and  devotion,  will  ask  the  Father  for 
help  and  guidance  unto  this  final  victory.  He  then 
finds  that  Jesus  Christ  assists  all  those  who  are  at  the 
apex  of  their  earth  problems,  if  they  call  upon  Him,  in 
His  name. 

Jesus  Christ's  Message  is  for  those  who  are  coming 
into  the  harvest  of  the  cycle  which  is  now  at  its  close. 
Those  of  lesser  degree  of  unfoldment  will  not  hear, 
neither  heed  the  flash-lights  in  this  message.  They  will 
continue  to  pass  onward  upon  the  carnal  path,  where 
truths  beautiful  and  grand  are  given  to  help  cheer  and 
guide  them,  until  they  in  their  ripening  cycle  come  to 
the  high  notes  of  the  Master's  message,  receive  them 
and,  through  Love,  Devotion,  Insight  and  Understand- 
ing, come  into  the  Redemption.  They,  too,  will  then  be 
given  their  crown,  which  is  their  restoration  to  their 
Spiritual  Body,  as  they  have  become  the  Conscious  Sons 
of  God  and  walk  again  in  the  paradisaical  garden, — 
their  Home  and  their  inheritance. 

In  ancient  times,  when  one  of  God's  little  ones  was 
trying  to  find  the  way  out  from  his  confused  mind,  God 
spake  and  said,  **Be  still,  and  know  that  I  am  God." 
When  man  learns  to  quiet  his  carnal  mind  and  com- 
mand it  to  be  still,  then  he  can  hear  the  ''Still  sweet 
voice  of  the  Father,"  ever  calling  to  the  Soul  who  is 
lost  in  carnality,  "Adam,  where  art  thou?"  The  car- 
nal mind  of  man  can,  and  it  will,  if  not  controlled,  roam 


238  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

and  become  so  filled  with  unrest  and  confusion,  that 
man  hears  and  knows  nothing  but  the  reports  of  the 
outer  department  of  his  mind.  Man,  then,  when  he  en- 
deavors to  ''Know  himself,'^  should  begin  to  train  his 
turbulent  mind. 

What  is  it  in  man  that  controls  the  outer  department 
of  his  mind?  The  Ego.  What  is  the  ego?  It  is  the 
super-conscious  mind  of  the  Eeal  Self,  the  Divine  Man, 
which  is  the  mind  of  God,  and  becomes  manifest  in  man 
when  the  turbulent  sea  of  the  carnal  mind  has  been 
quieted. 

The  Divine  Mind  is  likened  unto  the  deep  clear  lake, 
whose  placid  water  reflects  the  blue  sky  and  every  soft, 
fleecy  cloud  as  they  float  quietly  along, — no  noise,  not 
a  sound  in  the  lake,  neither  in  the  sky  above,  nor  from 
the  soft  clouds,  yet  all!  yes  all,  filling  their  place.  Di- 
vine Harmony,  Rhythm  and  Peace  abound  and  man 
moves  as  softly  and  gracefully  along  as  the  white  clouds 
in  the  blue  dome. 

All  things  in  carnality,  including  that  which  sur- 
rounds and  composes  the  carnal  man,  is  fleeting  and 
changing.  They  are  in  the  law  which  governs  and 
causes  change.  The  seasons  come  and  go;  seed-time, 
then  harvest,  then  the  bleak  winter.  Thus  in  nature  we 
see  one  continuous  round  of  change  and  the  carnal  man 
passes  on  to  three  score  years  and  ten,  passes  onward 
still,  and  the  place  that  knew  him  knows  him  no  more. 
There  is  no  stability.  Though  the  mountains  in  their 
greatness  are  such  towers  of  strength  that  man  stands 
in  awe  before  them,  yet  a  tremble  of  the  earth,  a  quiver, 
and  they  slide  into  the  sea.  Man  looks  upon  the  sea 
with  admiration  as  its  never  ceasing  waters  bring  to 
his  remembrance  the  strength  and  power  of  God;  yet 
a  tremble  of  the  earth,  and  islands  raise  their  proud 
heads  in  its  midst,  and  the  sea  cannot  say  them  nay. 

*'God  is  Omnipotent,  Omnipresent  and  Omniscient!" 
there  is  none  beside  Him.  God  and  His  manifestatons 
are  the  Real;  there  are  none  beside  them. 


The  Flashlight  of  Truth  239 

When  man  learns  the  Truth  concerning  God,  Man 
and  the  Universe,  he  will  see  the  Real,  the  Perfect. 
Therein  is  stability,  serenity;  and  all  things  move  in 
the  Eternal  Law  of  God,  which  is  Rhythm,  Harmony 
and  Peace.  All  who  dwell  there  have  perpetual  youth, 
because  time  is  not  permitted  to  enter. 

A  flash  of  light,  which  Jesus  Christ  came  to  give,  is 
great  enough,  so  that,  if  man  lives  close  enough  to  God, 
the  sick  can  be  healed  in  answer  to  his  prayer.  Jesus 
preached  the  Truth,  the  Gospel  to  the  poor.  He  healed 
the  sick,  raised  the  dead  and  fed  the  hungry.  These 
are  the  fruits  which  are  the  results  of  the  work  done 
by  the  Christ;  and  every  devotee  or  disciple  of  Truth, 
who  has  the  Christ  born  within  him,  can  see  the  sick 
healed,  and  blessings  flow  to  those  for  whom  he  prays. 
Jesus  Christ  did  not  teach  or  heal  for  His  own  aggrand- 
isement; but  to  reveal  the  Truth  of  the  Ages  to  hu- 
manity, that  they  might  learn  to  come  into  Peace  and 
Harmony  in  their  perception  and  understanding. 

When  man  learns  to  know  himself  as  God  created 
him,  he  will  arise  above  sickness,  pain,  sorrow  and  death ; 
because  man,  "the  image  and  likeness  of  God,"  cannot 
suffer  or  die,  neither  was  born.  ''Birth  and  death  are 
not''  to  the  Spiritual  Man." 

"Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy 
laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest." 

"Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  me,  for  I  am 
meek  and  lowly  of  heart,  and  you  shall  find  rest  unto 
your  soul." 

Let  us  remember  that  Truth  is  God  and  that  God  is 
as  old  as  Eternity,  without  beginning,  without  ending. 

Truth  has  spoken  in  all  ages  and  all  climes  to  the 
children  of  men,  and  will  never  cease  to  speak  to  them, 
even  until  all  have  returned  to  the  Father's  House. 

The  Spirit,  which  is  God,  is  manifesting  in  the  mind 
and  heart  of  man  even  as  the  Breath  of  God  breathes 
in  and  through  man,  but  man  heeds  not  as  long  as  he 
slumbers  in  the  carnal  sleep ;  but,  when  he  awakens,  he 


240  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

rejoices  to  learn  that  the  God-Spirit  is  forever  within 
him  and  that  the  holy  Breath  of  God  breathes  him. 

When  man  learns  this,  it  is  his  privilege  to  seek  for 
the  Path,  which  leads  to  Love  and  devotion  until  he 
finds  himself  so  emancipated  from  the  thraldom  of  car- 
nality that  he  perceives  his  nearness  to,  yes,  At-one- 
ment  with,  the  Father. 

Jesus  Christ,  when  speaking  unto  the  awakened  and 
quickened  man,  said,  "I  and  the  Father  are  one,  but 
the  Father  is  greater  than  I."  He  also  said,  "The 
Father  within  me.  He  doeth  the  works.*'  When  the 
veil  of  mystery  is  rent  in  twain,  man  can  see  the  one- 
ness of  God  and  the  inseparableness  of  man, — God's 
manifestation, — from  God. 

Thus  we  see  that  there  is  a  Oneness,  a  Wholeness, 
which  is  a  mystery  beyond  the  carnal  man's  concept. 
In  the  gloom  and  darkness  of  the  garden,  when  Jesus 
moved  into  the  cold  carnal  current  of  death.  He  seemed 
for  a  short  time  to  lose  His  realization  of  His  At-one- 
ment  with  the  Father  and  He  cried  out,  ''My  God! 
My  God!  Why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?"  but,  in  an  in- 
stant the  Christ  became  the  Master  and  He  exclaimed, 
"Father,  not  my  will  but  thine,  be  done."  The  adver- 
sary is  ever  ready  to  turn  the  devotee  from  the  clear 
recognition  of  the  Truth  of  his  Being ;  but  the  Christ  is 
ever  alert  to  rebuke  and  cast  out  the  illusive  adversary. 
The  Christ  is  man's  inheritance.  It  is  the  individu- 
alized manifestation  of  God,  expressed  in  man.  The 
carnal  mind  is  the  counterfeit  of  the  Christ-Mind. 

The  carnal  mind  and  body  of  man  are  to  be  redeemed, 
transmuted,  into  the  Real  man;  and  those  who  are 
awake  and  prepared  to  hear  the  sounding  note,  the 
vibration  of  which  will  raise  the  vibration  of  the  mind 
and  body  from  the  vibrations  of  earth  to  the  vibrations 
of  Spirit,  these  will  become  conscious  sons  of  God. 

The  light  which  is  now  flashing  clear  and  bright  over 
the  earth  is,  "Awake,  thou  that  sleepeth;"  arise,  cast 


The  Flashlight  op  Truth  241 

away  the  grave-clothes  of  the  past  and  press  forward 
unto  the  prize  of  the  high-calling,  in  Jesus  Christ,  the 
glorified,  God- Conscious  Son  of  the  Living  God. 


CHAPTER  XV 
THE  LABYRINTH  OF  GOD'S  GLORY. 

AS  man  walks  onward  upon  the  Christ-Path,  which 
is  the  Path  the  initiated  have  trod,  guided  by 
the  Christ,  he  approaches  mystery  after  mystery 
and  pauses  before  them  until,  through  prayer  and  de- 
votion, he  gains  sufficient  insight  to  solve  them  and 
pass  on;  and  man,  as  he  traverses  the  labyrinth  of 
God's  Glory,  becomes  so  translucent,  that  he  is  a  part 
of  the  glory  of  God  and  moves  onward  upon  the  mystic 
Path,  vibrating  with  and  radiating  the  glory  of  God. 

We  read  in  olden  times  that  the  glory  of  God  be- 
came so  great  that  it  filled  the  ark,  the  tabernacle  and 
the  court.  This  was  a  glimpse  of  the  Glory  of  God.  A 
Soul,  feeling  the  glory  of  God,  exclaimed,  ''The  glory 
of  God  shall  fill  the  earth,  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea." 
The  Glory  of  God  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of  God. 

As  man  moves  onward  he  catches  a  glimpse,  now 
and  then,  of  this  glory;  but  he  is  unable  to  retain  it, 
as  it  requires  the  fully  awakened  and  Christ-filled  man 
to  traverse  the  Labyrinth  of  God's  glory.  Stage  after 
stage  must  be  passed  and  initiations  take  place,  ere  the 
initiate  is  permitted  to  enter  the  glory  of  God,  which 
is  far  beyond  the  conception  of  the  newly-awakened  one. 

God,  our  Father-Mother,  has  never  left  mankind 
without  guidance,  it  matters  not  in  what  stage  of  evo- 
lution they  are,  though  the  finite  intelligence  knows 
not  the  requirements  of  each  stage  of  evolution.  Man, 
"The  image  and  likeness  of  God,"  does  not  evolve,  but 
remains  perfect,  as  God  created  him,  through  all  stages 

242 


The  Labyrinth  of  God's  Glory  243 

of  evolution.     Then  we  see  that  it  is  the  carnal,   or 
counterfeit,  man  which  evolves. 

When  man  learns  the  Truth  of  his  Being,  and  that 
he  is  inseparable  from  God,  he  will  have  passed  from 
the  stage  of  evolution  and  will  walk  in  the  Glory  of 
God;  but  the  labyrinth  of  God's  glory  is  so  mystical 
and  magical,  that  man  moves  forward  in  the  maze 
thereof,  ever  entranced  by  the  White  Light  of  the 
Glory;  and,  so  enchanting  is  the  White  Light  of  Life 
and  the  golden  glow  of  Love,  that  man  walks  the  mysti- 
cal Path  through  the  Eternality  of  Eternity  and  grows 
not  weary,  nor  sighs ;  because  Love,  Life  and  the  Glory 
of  God  are  there. 

When  man  shall  scale  the  heights  and  move  along  the 
mystic  Path  in  God's  glory,  all  regrets,  disappoint- 
ments and  anticipations  have  disappeared  from  his 
mind;  his  carnal  mind,  the  mind  of  earth,  having  been 
consumed  and  merged  into  the  Christ  Mind,  as  nothing 
but  that  which  is  redeemed  can  enter  upon  that  degree 
of  the  Path. 

The  Glory  of  God  is  so  great,  that  none  but  the  initi- 
ate can  abide  in  its  glory.  0,  the  glory,  the  mystery 
of  God!  Who  can  understand  it?  None,  but  the  one 
who  has  traversed  the  Path  from  his  awakening  from 
the  carnal  sleep  and  has  passed  the  initiations  until  he 
has  arrived  at  the  initiation  which  is  called  the  glory 
initiation.  It  is  that  which  transcends  all  other  steps 
which  the  initiate  has  taken. 

In  using  the  term  initiate,  we  are  referring  to  the 
disciples  of  Jesus  Christ  and  all  devotees  of  Truth.  No 
man  can  awaken  from  a  sound  sleep  of,  perhaps  ages, 
into  a  full  recognition  of  all  that  has  transpired  while 
he  slept;  so,  no  man  can  awaken  from  the  slumber  of 
carnality  into  the  ''glorious  liberty  of  the  Son  of  God" 
at  a  bound.  As  man,  rung  by  rung,  ascends  the  ladder 
of  fame,  so  man,  step  by  step,  moves  forward  upon  the 
mystic  Path, — that  Path  which  has  been  called  Sacred 


244  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

by  all  the  Holy  men  who  have  traveled  upon  it  through 
the  earth's  existence. 

When  man  arrives  at  the  initiation  known  as  the 
Glory  Initiation,  he  has  passed  away  from  the  wheel 
of  life,  carnal  life,  known  as  birth  and  death,  and  is  a 
master;  and,  according  to  his  desire,  so  it  is  with  him, 
if  he  remains  age  after  age  in  the  labyrinth  of  God's 
Glory  and  lingers  long  in  the  enchanted  nooks  of  the 
maze  of  Glory;  or,  if  he  soon  returns  to  earth  as  a 
messenger  to  mankind,  that  they,  too,  may  be  instructed 
so  they  can  enter  upon  the  Sacred  Path. 

If  the  self-will  has  been  entirely  merged  into  the  Will 
of  the  Father,  man  will  have  no  desire  except  to  do  the 
bidding  of  the  Father,  This  is  a  higher  degree  of  initi- 
ation than  the  one  in  which  is  the  man  who  enters  the 
initiation  with  even  a  little  of  the  self-will  lingering 
in  his  mind. 

The  Glory  of  God  is  deep  and  mysterious.  It  moved 
before  the  Hebrew  children  as  a  cloud  by  day  and  a 
pillar  of  Fire  at  night.  The  Glory  of  God  filled  the 
upper  room  in  Jerusalem  where  the  disciples  were  met 
together,  as  with  a  rushing  mighty  wind;  and  tongues 
of  flame  expressed  it.  If  man  has  been  initiated  into 
the  Glory  of  God,  he  will  recognize  this  glory  at  all 
times  and  in  all  places;  yea,  in  the  busy  marts  of  the 
great  city,  as  well  as  in  the  mountain  solitude,  and  in 
the  barren  desert  as  on  the  great  deep. 

The  Glory  of  God  is  as  Omnipresent  as  God.  Who 
can  think  of  the  presence  of  God  and  not  remember 
His  Glory?  Man  sees  the  dark  and  lowering  cloud  and 
hears  the  rumbling  of  the  thunder  as  it  reverberates 
through  the  canyons  and  low  hills;  and,  as  the  rumb- 
ling is  lost  in  the  distance,  who  does  not  remember  the 
greatness  of  God?  and,  as  the  rain  refreshes  the  earth, 
causing  grass  and  flowers  to  spring  forth,  who,  save 
the  man  who  is  sound  asleep,  can  pass  carelessly  along 
and  not  permit  these  expressions  of  greatness  to  re- 


The  Labyrinth  of  God's  Glory  245 

mind  him  of  the  greatness  of  God?  None.  For  the 
awakened  man  ever  treads  lightly  in  the  presence  of 
God  and,  when  he  has  passed  into  the  initiation  of  the 
glory  of  God,  he,  as  he  walks  the  mytsic  Path,  becomes 
conscious  of  the  Omnipresence  of  God  and  recognizes 
the  flowers  as  a  caress,  the  green  grass  as  a  mantle,  soft 
and  clean,  placed  there  by  the  Loving  care  of  the  All- 
Loving  One  as  a  blessing  to  man.  In  this  initiation 
man  sees  the  Glory  of  God  at  all  times,  in  all  places; 
and,  in  this  recognition,  man  moves  along  in  the  laby- 
rinth of  God's  Glory  and  the  barren  deserts  are  no 
longer  barren  to  him,  for,  lo,  they  bloom  as  a  garden 
of  roses. 

The  sea  is  no  longer  unstable  and  surging  with  un- 
rest, for,  lo,  man,  in  the  Realization  of  the  Glory  of 
God,  speaks,  "Peace,  be  still!"  and  a  calm  becomes 
manifest. 

He  fears  not  the  poisonous  reptile,  because  he  knows 
the  Glory  of  God  counteracts  all  venom  or  poison. 

He  fears  not  to  meet  the  wild  beast  in  its  lair,  be- 
cause he  has  learned  that  where  the  Glory  of  God  is 
and  man's  animal  nature  being  transformed,  the  ani- 
mal reflecting  this  state  of  the  man  becomes  a  friend 
and  roams  leisurely  by  his  side. 

The  Glory  of  God  closed  the  mouths  of  the  lions 
when  Daniel  was  cast  into  their  den;  the  glory  sur- 
rounding Daniel  was  so  great,  they  thought  not  to  harm 
him. 

The  Glory  of  God  was  so  great  when  the  three  He- 
brew children  were  cast  into  the  fiery  furnace,  that, 
when  the  King  looked  in  to  see  the  result,  he  said,  ''I 
see  four  men  walking  therein,  and  one  is  like  unto  the 
Son  of  God."  The  Glory  of  God  was  brighter  than 
the  fire  in  the  furnace,  although  heated  to  seven  times 
more  heat  than  usual. 

We  have  stated  before  in  this  book,  that  God  has 
never  left  mankind  without  guidance.  Here  we  see  the 
King  recognizing  the  Son  of  God  in  His  Glory,  even 


246  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

though  Jesus  Christ  had  not  been  born  into  the  body 
of  flesh  and  was  not  for  several  centuries  after.  The 
Christ  is  the  Son  of  God.  As  God  was  one,  while  in 
repose,  before  creation  became  manifest;  therefore,  im- 
personal; so,  before  man  became  individualized,  Christ 
was  impersonal.  When  God  became  manifest  in  man, 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  became  manifest. 

In  the  Glory-Initiation  the  initiate  perceives  that  the 
glory  is  so  great  that  it  causes  the  unity  of  the  All. 
The  Father,  the  positive  side  of  God;  the  Word,  the 
Mother,  or  negative  side;  and  the  Christ,  the  Holy 
Spirit,  or  the  Son;  (the  Trinity)  stand  forth  behind 
the  shekinah  in  a  glory  so  great  that  only  man,  who  is 
in  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  Son  of  God,  can  pene- 
trate the  brightness  of  the  glory  and  understand,  even 
faintly,  the  great  Truth  contained  in  the  Great  Mystery 
which  is  enfolded  in  the  Glory  of  God.  Then  he  walks 
in  the  labyrinth  of  God's  glory,  feasting  as  he  had 
never  feasted;  then  he  moves  in  and  through  the  glo- 
rious maze  of  the  Glory  of  God,  ever  knowing  that  the 
Father  lovingly  and  tenderly  caresses  him,  and  know- 
ing also  that  *'He  is  living,  moving  and  having  his  Be- 
ing in  God." 

He  then  may  feel,  as  King  David  was  inspired  to 
write,  *'God  covers  me  with  His  feathers,  and  under 
His  wing  do  I  trust.'* 

No  ill  can  befall  a  man  while  living  in  this  consicous- 
ness  of  his  nearness  to  God.  King  David,  also,  through 
the  inspiration  which  guided  his  pen,  said,  ''Ten  thou- 
sand may  fall  at  thy  side,  but  it  shall  not  come  nigh 
thee," — ''for  it  is  only  with  thine  eye  man  sees,  and 
beholds  the  reward  of  the  wicked." 

A  deep  Truth  lies  buried  there,  for,  of  a  surety,  the 
inner,  or  spiritual  eye,  sees  the  perfect  man,  whom  God 
created  "in  His  image  and  likeness." 

In  the  Beauty  of  God  purity  and  holiness  abide.  The 
water-lily  rests  on  the  clear,  blue  water,  and  the  wind, 
as  the  breath  of  paradise,  blows  softly  through  God's 


The  Labyrinth  of  God's  Glory  247 

creation  and  Life  Eternal  is  vibrant  there.  Time  has 
no  place,  for  time  ceases  at  the  border-line  of  Eternity. 
In  the  state  of  Spiritual  unfoldment,  where  the  Spir- 
itual perception  and  Intellectual  Illumination  has  burst 
into  expression  in  man,  he  becomes  conscious  of  Eter- 
nity. Then  he  sees  the  beauty  of  the  Eternality  of 
Being,  where  there  is  no  decay,  no  fading,  no  growing 
old,  no  pain,  no  care,  no  death ;  but  boundless  beauty 
enwraps  the  Soul;  and,  as  man  scans  the  horizon  for 
a  diminishing  of  the  Eternal  Beauty  and  finds  none,  he 
will  lave  in  it  and  rejoice  therein.  Then  praises  flow 
from  heart  and  Soul  and  man  exclaims,  ''Praise  God, 
from  who  all  beauty  flows." 

God  is  Beauty  in  expression,  ''and  there  is  none  be- 
side him."  In  the  lowering  cloud  and  distant  rumb- 
ling of  thunder,  there  is  beauty,  but,  differently  ex- 
pressed from  the  song  of  the  bird  or  the  sweet-scented 
flowers  which  beautify  the  wood-land  in  spring-time. 

There  is  beauty  in  the  flower;  there  is  beauty  in  the 
golden  grain.  It  expresses  in  the  babbling  brook  and 
through  the  spring-time  rain. 

There  is  Glory  in  the  Light  of  God  and  in  the  dark- 
ness, too;  but  who  can  discern  the  darkness  when  he 
the  Glory  knows? 

There  is  Love  in  the  dew-drops  and  in  the  mountain 
trees  and  in  the  heart  of  man,  whose  consciousness  at 
awakening  reflects  God,  of  whom  he  consciously  be- 
comes a  part.  Love  is  God  and  man,  "His  image  and 
likeness,"  will  become  a  conscious  part  of  that  which 
he  images.  This  is  the  Truth  of  Man's  Real  Being  now; 
but  man,  having  lost  all  consciousness  of  his  Real 
Spirit-Self,  through  living  so  long  in  the  carnal  con- 
cept of  himself,  will,  upon  awakening,  believe  himself 
separated  from  God;  and,  in  that  state,  he  reflects  God's 
Love,  Light  and  Peace;  but,  as  he  comes  nearer  the 
Light,  he,  being  instructed  by  those  who  have  passed 
far  beyond  upon  the  Path,  will,  like  the  prodigal  son 


248  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

in  the  parable  of  Jesus,  arise  and  return  to  his  Father, 
and  when  the  Father  sees  him,  even  afar  off.  He  comes 
to  meet  him. 

What  is  the  first  expression  of  the  Father?  He  gives 
him  a  robe  to  put  on;  then  the  Father  places  a  ring 
upon  his  hand.  The  ring  is  a  symbol  of  unity,  of  Eter- 
nity without  beginning  or  end. 

This  signifies  man^s  consciousness  of  his  union  with 
his  Father.  When  man  has  passed  along  the  Sacred 
Path  until  he  has  arrived  at  that  initiation,  it  is  then 
no  longer  to  him  separation  from  his  Father;  neither 
reflection;  because  he  has  scaled  the  heights  and  stands 
upon  the  summit  of  the  mountain  and  sees  and  knows 
as  God  would  have  him  know. 

The  beauty  of  that  summit  and  the  surrounding  coun- 
try none  can  tell;  'tis  only  the  Soul  and  Spirit  that 
lives  therein  and  feasts  and  feasts,  until  man  is  lost, 
yea,  lost,  in  God;  and  the  place  that  knows  him  will 
know  him  no  more.  He  drinks  the  cool,  clear  water  of 
Life  ever  and  anon,  and  his  food  is  the  bread  of  heaven, 
which  is  Love,  Harmony  and  Peace  forevermore. 

Satisfaction  is  his  portion;  in  contentment  he  moves 
onward  in  the  labyrinth  of  Glory,  amidst  the  Beauty 
of  God. 

When  man  has  attained  unto  this  At-one-ment,  there 
is  no  selfishness  within  him;  because  he  has  been  tested 
at  each  initiation  upon  the  Path  and  God's  consuming 
fire  has  burnt  so  firm  and  strong  within  and  about  him, 
that  his  carnal  nature  has  been  consumed.  When  the 
carnal  mind  is  consumed,  the  Spiritual  man,  in  his 
Spiritual  Concept,  remains  and  is  an  expression  of 
God's   Beauty,   surrounded  with   Beauty   Eternal. 

It  is  the  carnal  man,  the  one  who  looks  out  upon  the 
world  with  the  outer,  or  human  eye,  who  sees  destruc- 
tion in  the  dark  and  lowering  clouds  and  poverty  in 
the  midst  of  abundance. 

God's  presence  fills  all  space  and  all  forms  therein. 
Then  the  Beauty,  Glory,  Love,  Life,  Peace  and  Power 


The  Labyrinth  of  God^s  Glory  249 

of  God  is  here,  there  and  everywhere.  Then,  0  man! 
look  up  with  thy  Spiritual  Eye  and  see  God  in  all  His 
Glory ! 

Let  not  fear  of  disease,  poverty  or  death  enter  thy 
mind  to  cast  a  shadow  in  the  white  Light  of  God^s 
Eternal  Glory.  Neither  doubt  nor  regret,  haste  nor 
sluggishness,  further  mar  the  beauty  of  God's  ever- 
presence.  There  is  Beauty  so  deep  and  Sublime  in 
God's  plan  of  man's  on-going  and  the  movements  of 
the  Universe,  that  man,  when  he  at  first  awakens,  stands 
in  wonder  before  it ;  but  when  the  Christ  has  been  born 
in  him  and  has  grown  unto  the  statue  of  full  manhood, 
he,  with  the  mind  which  was,  and  is,  in  Jesus  Christ, 
as  he  beholds  the  vastness  and  greatness  of  God's  beauty 
as  expressed  in  his  fellow  man  and  all  about  him,  bows 
his  head  in  reverent  adoration  for  the  Being  which  is 
and  is  able  to  express  His  Beauty  and  Glory  every- 
where. Then  the  song  of  praise  and  the  prayer  of 
gratitude  radiate  from  him,  always  and  ever  more. 

God  transcends  any  imagination  the  initiate  may 
have  had,  when  he  at  first  awakens  from  the  Adam- 
Sleep.  It  is  not  death  which  brings  about  this  change 
in  man,  but  his  own  unfoldment.  As  long  as  man  is 
asleep  in  carnality,  he  may  live  one  or  many  lives  upon 
the  earth  and  not  gain  anything,  as  it  is  only  when 
the  Soul  awakens  that  man's  movements  begin  to  lead 
away  from  the  deep  forest  in  which  he  has  slept  so  long. 

After  man  is  thoroughly  awakened,  then  he  begins 
to  solve  his  problems;  and  hard  and  difficult  do  they 
seem  to  every  Soul  as  he  endeavors  to  pierce  through 
the  darkness  which  envelops  him.  Anything  that  is 
strange  and  unknowable  to  man  is  darkness  to  him; 
but  when  he  has  learned  the  Truth  concerning  it,  Light 
begins  to  shine  and  in  time,  sometime,  somewhere,  man 
will  have  passed  so  far  upon  the  Path,  that  he  is  con- 
sciously surrounded  and  flooded  with  Light,  and  the 
fullness  of  Light  reveals  the  Glory  of  God. 

Glorious  Light!  glorious  Love!  glorious  Peace!  glo- 


250  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

rious  Power !  glorious  Harmony !  These  are  some  of  the 
attributes  of  God  as  seen  with  the  Spiritual  Eye  of  the 
Initiate  as  he  walks  in  the  Labyrinth  of  God's  Glory. 

At  this  stage  upon  the  Sacred  Path  man  perceives 
he  has  left  the  "old  man  with  his  deeds,  desires,  dis- 
ease, sorrows,  poverty  and  death"  far  behind  him,  as 
these  belong  to  the  man  who  is  living  in  the  low  vibra- 
tions of  the  earth. 

''Two  may  be  in  a  field,  one  be  taken  and  the  other 
left;"  thus  it  is  plain  to  be  seen  the  change  is  in  the 
man  and  not  in  the  environments;  and,  as  man  be- 
comes alive  with  the  Spirit  of  God,  his  vibrations  are 
those  of  the  Spirit  and  not  of  the  earth. 

Then  it  can  be  clearly  seen,  one  man  being  filled  with 
the  vibrations  of  the  Spirit,  is  walking  upon  the  Sacred 
Path  which  winds  through  the  labyrinth  of  God's 
Glory;  and  another,  even  a  neighbor  near  at  hand,  is 
so  sound  asleep  that  he  is  in  the  earth  vibrations  and 
knows  not  that  there  is  the  Glory  of  God.  When  man 
first  awakens,  he  perceives  this  glory  faintly;  he  be- 
lieves it  far  away,  and  even  thinks  heaven  is  a  place  to 
be  reached  by  passing  the  portal  called  death ;  and  that 
it  is  there  the  Glory  of  God  can  be  realized;  but  it  for- 
ever remains  a  fixed  and  Eternal  Truth,  that  God  is 
Omnipresent;  and  man,  when  he  has  arrived  at  the 
place  upon  the  Path  where  he  perceives  this  to  be  true, 
soon,  if  he  reads  the  instructions  of  the  Great  Teacher, 
our  Elder  Brother,  will  learn  that  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  is  within  the  Initiate. 

The  man  who  is  living  in  the  carnal  concept  of  him- 
self does  not  discover  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  within 
him,  because  man  cannot  "serve  two  masters."  Then 
we  see  that  the  man,  though  awakened  and  still  lost  in 
the  forest  of  carnality,  does  not  know  as  yet  that  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  within  him;  but  the  one  who 
has  passed  out  from  the  mist  of  confusion  and  is  on  the 
Sacred  Path  and  has  pressed  forward  until  he  has  come 
into  the  Glory-Initiation,  finds  that  he  has  the  King- 


The  Labyrinth  of  God's  Glory  251 

dom  of  Heaven  within  him,  and  ''that  he  lives,  moves 
and  has  his  Being  in  God;"  and,  as  the  Glory  of  God 
fills  his  Soul,  he  becomes  en  rapport  with  the  Glory 
of  God  which  fills  all  space;  and  he,  in  the  ecstasy  of 
bliss,  vibrates  in  rhythm  with  the  music  of  the  spheres. 
In  this  state,  death  cannot  enter,  "neither  that  which 
defineth  nor  maketh  a  lie.'* 

In  this  concept  of  God,  man  sees  the  universal  broth- 
erhood of  the  Sons  of  God ;  and  all  the  full-grown  Sons 
of  God,  then  shout  for  joy  and  sing,  ''Peace  on  earth, 
and  good  will  to  man;'^  but  the  little  children  (those 
still  sleeping  in  the  carnal  dream  are  as  little  children 
selfish  and  resentful)  appreciate  not  the  songs  or  teach- 
ings of  those  elder  brothers;  yet  through  experience 
deep,  and  perhaps  long,  they  traverse  the  winding  path 
which  leads  through  the  carnal  experience;  but  when 
they  have  become  awakened  mentally  and  Spiritually, 
they  will  gladly  heed  the  teachings  and  welcome  the 
songs  of  the  glorified  ones. 

Poets  may  sing,  artists  paint  and  sages  proclaim  con- 
cerning the  Glory  of  God;  but  who,  save  he  whom  the 
Glory  of  God  has  transformed,  can  tell  so  that  those 
behind  him  may  catch  even  a  glimpse  of  the  greatness? 

Man  gathers  the  rose  and  the  violet ;  he  admires  their 
beauty  and  inhales  their  fragrance;  but  who,  save  God, 
can  understand  how  they  were  formed  and  from  whence 
came  their  perfume  and  how  their  petals  were  shaped 
and  who  painted  them?  Although  they  hold  their 
secrets  buried  deep  in  their  hearts,  man  welcomes  them 
along  his  pathway,  as  they,  with  their  bright,  sweet 
presence,  cheer  and  remind  him  of  the  creation  which 
is,  even  though  forever  invisible  to  the  outer  man. 

So  the  man  who  has  the  glory  of  God  within  him 
is  welcomed  by  his  fellow-men  who  have  not  attained 
unto  that  high  initiation,  because  he  reveals  to  them 
their  Creator,  even  though  He  remains  invisible. 

Faith,  being  born  in  them,  they,  by  faith,  have  joined 
hands  with  hope  and  the  Glory  of  God  becomes  mani- 


252  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

fest;  and  when  man  scales  the  mountain  which  is  cov- 
ered with  the  Glory  of  God,  he  sees,  that  the  Holy  City 
which  lieth  four-square  is  there.  The  River  of  Life 
flows  clear  and  cool,  and  the  flowers  are  rare  and  beau- 
tiful, the  trees  forever  green  and  the  Glory  of  God  fills 
it  and  the  Breath  of  God  breathes  it. 

This  City  is  raised  above  the  earth,  even  to  the  moun- 
tain summit,  and  it  vibrates  with  the  vibration  of  the 
Spirit  of  God.  So  man,  when  he  has  become  filled  with 
the  Glory  of  God,  is  raised  above  the  earth's  vibrations, 
even  to  the  summit  of  the  Mountain  of  Truth. 

As  the  City  is  four-square,  Holy,  Pure  and  Com- 
plete, so  man  will  be  when  he  reaches  the  summit. 
Then  he  has  passed  that  Initiation  which  enables  him 
to  become  the  Redeemed  and  Glorified  Son  of  God. 
When  man  is  redeemed,  he  has  passed  from  the  mists 
of  earth  and  death  has  no  more  power  over  him.  Jesus 
Christ  proved  that  this  is  possible  for  man  dwelling 
here  upon  this  earth,  when  He  ascended  beyond  the 
earthly  sight  of  men.  Because  He  became  invisible  to 
his  disciples  was  no  evidence  that  He  had  departed 
from  them;  but  His  vibrations,  being  the  Spirit  vibra- 
tions, were  of  so  high  a  rate  that  they  could  not  see 
Him.  He  lowered  His  vibrations  sufficiently  when  He 
deemed  it  necessary  to  prove  His  presence,  so  that  they 
could  see  and  talk  with  Him. 

If  it  was  possible  for  Jesus  Christ  to  thus  reveal 
Himself  to  His  disciples  two  thousand  years  ago,  we 
ask,  "Is  it  not  possible  for  Him  to  do  so  in  this  age?" 
Surely  His  power  has  not  diminished,  neither  His  love 
waxed  cold.  Down  the  centuries  which  have  passed 
since  He  disappeared  from  the  outer  sight  of  mankind. 
He  has  ever  been  vibrating  to  the  Spiritually  awak- 
ened, and  many  lonely  travelers  upon  the  Sacred  Path 
have  been  cheered,  comforted  and  strengthened  by  His 
presence,  when  none  but  they  knew  that  He  was  near. 

Jesus  Christ  is  ever  walking  in  the  Labyrinth  of 
God's  Glory  and  assists  and  blesses  all  who  approach 


k 


The  Labyrinth  of  God^s  Glory  253 

Him,  or  even  call  upon  Him.  In  the  vastness  of  the 
labyrinth  in  which  the  Glory  of  God  abides,  every  de- 
sire of  the  Heart  is  known,  ''not  even  a  sparrow  fall- 
eth  but  the  Father  knoweth"  and  no  call  is  made  but 
the  Heart  of  God  responds. 

To  the  Initiate  upon  the  Path  we  will  say,  '*Be  still'* 
and  become  conscious  of  the  presence  of  the  Living  God 
and  of  His  Light,  Love,  Power  and  Loving  Cars.  Then 
turn  your  eye  toward  the  center,  the  Heart  of  God, 
which  you  reach  through  your  own  heart,  and  there 
abide;  and  soon  you  will  begin  to  vibrate  in  a  higher 
rate  of  vibration,  and,  if  you  will  steadfastly  keep  your 
eye  upon  the  Eternality  of  God,  the  ray  of  glory  will 
reach  you  from  the  evergreen  fields  of  Infinity. 

''The  Glory  of  God  fills  the  earth,  as  the  water  fills 
the  sea."  When  all  the  men  of  earth  awaken  and  per- 
ceive this,  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  will  be  established 
upon  earth  and  the  "Father's  Will  done  upon  earth 
as  it  is  in  Heaven." 

In  the  Labyrinth  of  God's  Glory  man  lives  and 
moves,  guided  by  the  Intelligence  of  God.  These  are 
ever  calm  and  serene,  and  peace  and  contentment  are 
their  portion. 

If  man  in  this  state  should  permit  unrest  or  discon- 
tent to  become  his  companion,  he  soon  would  lose  the 
Brightness  of  the  Glory.  Man  then  would  find  it  neces- 
sary to  sincerely  turn  to  the  Loving  Father,  through 
prayer  and  devotion;  and  God  will  hear  and  answer 
every  prayer,  when  asked  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Jesus  Christ,  the  perfect  man,  is  the  manifestation  in 
form  of  the  Father,  Son  and  the  Holy  Spirit. 

In  the  Shekinah,  in  the  Glory  which  is  iridescent  with 
the  blessing  of  God,  where  the  presence  of  God  is  so 
great,  all  Souls  melt  into  the  pure  Spirit  of  the  Living 
God  and  are  transformed  into  His  image  and  likeness; 
where  the  fire  of  God  is  so  great,  it  consumes  all  carnal 
dross,  all  men  will  sometime  stand  and  pass  along  in 
the  Labyrinth  of  God's  Glory,  as  consicous  Sons  of  God. 


254  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

This  is  the  state  which  Jesus  remembered.  He  said  to 
the  Father,  "I  remember  the  ecstasy  I  had  with  thee 
before  the  world  was. ' '  The  Glory  of  God  is  Sublimity ; 
it  is  Bliss. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  BEAUTY  OF  GOD. 

THE  beauty  of  God  is  so  sublime,  it  cannot  be  ex- 
pressed by  tongue  or  pen;  neither  can  the  artist, 
even  though  he  is  proficient  with  his  brush,  bring 
the  beauty  of  God  into  expression;  because  it  is  so  ex- 
quisitely sublime  none  save  God,  Himself,  can  express 
it.  This  He  does  through  nature.  Then  we  find  na- 
ture is  the  outer  expression  of  God  and  a  blessing  to 
man. 

A  poet  has  well  exclaimed,  ''If  nature  is  but  Thy 
garment.  Lord!  who  can  see  Thy  face  and  liveT'  The 
carnal  man,  whose  mind  is  filled  with  the  burden  of 
care  concerning  his  life  as  he  lives  it  in  his  carnal  sleep 
from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  many  times  passes  through 
the  woods  in  the  spring-time  after  the  warm  rays  of 
the  sun  have  melted  the  mantle  of  snow  which  has 
covered  the  ground  for  months  and  has  penetrated  into 
the  crevices  and  melted  the  ice  which  has  bound  all  as 
with  chains  and,  with  its  soft  warm  breath  caressing 
and  caressed  until  the  tender  ferns  have  appeared  in 
their  spring  gown  of  delicate  green  and  the  deep  blue 
violets  greet  the  sun  and  smile  a  welcome  to  all  who 
pass  by,  and  he  not  notice  or  appreciate  the  beauty  of 
God  which  surrounds  "him. 

The  soft  grass  soon  spreads  a  mantle  oTer  the  earth, 
which  a  short  time  before  was  barren  and  bleak.  The 
trees  send  forth  blossoms  and  the  birds  again  return 
and  sweetly  chant  their  songs,  morning  and  evening, 
to  their  Creator.     The  man  whose  mind  is  burdened 

255 


256  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

with  care  and  anxiety  will  most  likely  be  so  enamored 
with  self  and  his  cares,  that  he  will  see  no  beauty  any- 
where, even  though  it  surrounds  him  on  all  sides. 

When  winter  has  wrapped  the  earth  in  ice  and  snow, 
there  is  then  beauty  everywhere.  The  moutnains,  with 
their  deep  canyons,  streams,  foothills  and  snow-capped 
peaks  are  embraced  in  beauty.  The  man  who  is  asleep 
in  the  dream  of  care  and  anxiety  beholds  it  not;  but 
when  a  vibration  from  the  Heart  of  God  touches  the 
Spirit  of  man,  he  soon  will  see  there  is  a  mantle  of 
beauty  surrounding  him  continuously  and  in  every  land, 
from  the  snow  and  ice-bound  North  to  the  far  South 
where  the  sky  is  clear  and  blue  and  the  warm  sun  causes 
tropical  flowers  to  bloom  and  they  fill  the  air  with  their 
fragrance,  which  are  the  caresses  of  their  gratitude  for 
the  sun's  blessings. 

The  beauty  of  nature  is  God's  blessing  to  man  as  he 
walks  on  nature's  path  and  is  living  in  the  carnal  con- 
cept of  himself.  God's  Love  is  so  great  that  it,  like 
the  sun's  rays,  finds  every  crevice  where  man  may 
have  strayed  after  he  lost  his  way  in  the  mist,  of  which 
the  ancient  bard  speaks  in  Genesis. 

The  Real  Beauty  of  God  is  invisible  to  the  unawak- 
ened  man,  but  it  is  not  that  the  wrath  of  God  caused 
it  to  be  thus.  If  a  man  lives  in  the  far  north,  he  feels 
the  cold,  and  sees  the  earth  covered  with  bleakness  sev- 
eral months  at  a  time;  but,  should  he  grow  weary  of 
this  cold  and  bleakness,  it  is  his  prerogative  to  move  to 
a  warmer  climate,  even  to  a  tropical  country  where  he 
feels  the  soft  breezes  which  are  ladened  continually 
with  the  fragrance  of  many  rare  and  beautiful  flowers. 
If  he  is  content  there,  he  soon  forgets  the  cold  blasts 
of  winter  and  its  barrenness  and  gratefully  gathers  the 
flowers  of  the  tropical  land. 

Gratitude,  if  permitted  to  express  in  the  heart  and 
mind,  will  water  the  Spiritual  nature  until  the  Spir- 
itual Man  will  arise  and  become  the  commander.  When 
man  sees  with  the  Spiritual  or  inner  sight,  he  beholds 


The  Beauty  of  God  257 

beauty  everywhere  and  perceives  that  it  is  the  beauty 
of  God;  for  as  the  outer,  or  carnal  eye,  sees  the  outer 
garment  of  God,  nature,  so  the  inner  or  Spiritual  Eye 
sees  the  Real  or  unchangeable  beauty  of  God,  which  re- 
mains forever  invisible  to  the  man  who  is  living  in  the 
carnal  concept  of  himself  and  the  universe. 

With  the  outer  eye  man  sees  a  rose,  but,  even  as  he 
admires  it,  its  petals  fall,  its  beauty  is  gone,  and  man 
moves  on  to  gather  another  and  another;  but,  with  the 
Spirit  Eye,  man  forever  sees  the  rose,  the  invisible 
rose,  which  never  changes  though  the  outer  rose  has 
budded,  unfolded  and  fallen  many  times.  Therefore, 
the  man  who  is  Spiritually  awakened  and  is  filled  with 
the  Glory  of  God,  sees  with  the  inner  eye, — the  Eye  of 
Spirit.  Such  man  sees  the  Spiritual  Creation,  the  ex- 
pression of  God  which  never  changes  and  is  from  ever- 
lasting to  everlasting  throughout  the  endlessness  of 
Eternity. 

Thus  it  can  be  seen  that  man,  living  here  upon  the 
earth,  can,  after  awakening  from  the  Adam-Sleep,  turn 
so  completely  toward  the  inner,  which  is  the  beauty  of 
holiness, — the  beauty  of  God,  that  he,  through  the 
Falsh-Lights  of  Truth  sent  from  the  Father,  may  be- 
come so  eiv  rapport  with  the  Spiritual  vibrations  that 
he  recognizes  the  Glory  of  God  and  grows  beautiful  in 
its  Spirit.  At  first  it  seems  afar,  but  as  step  by  step 
man  moves  forward  upon  the  Sacred  Path  he  reflects 
the  Glory  of  God  and,  as  he  moves  deeper  into  the 
Heart  of  God,  he  will  become  conscious  that  he  is  filled 
with  this  glory  and  will  see  the  Glory  of  God  within 
and  without  in  such  vivid  visions  that  he  abides  in  the 
consciousness  of  the  Beauty  of  God,  making  him  and 
all  his  ways  glorious. 

Then  the  Beauty  of  God  is  translucent  to  him  and 
he,  having  Illumination  in  the  mind  and  heart  of  the 
Omnipresence  of  the  Beauty  and  Glory  of  God,  walks 
upon  the  Sacred  Path  (which  is  invisible  to  carnality) 


258  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

through  the  earth  among  the  children  of  men.  He  rev- 
els in  the  ecstasy  of  bliss,  the  Bliss  of  the  Soul  which 
has  awakened  and  returned  Home. 

The  first  effort  of  the  awakened  Soul  is  to  search  to 
find  out  God. 

The  Soul,  when  once  it  is  awakened  and  has  broken 
the  chains  of  the  carnal  sleep,  will  never  be  satisfied 
until  it  reaches  the  Christ-Light  which  leads  to  the 
Christ-consciousness  within  man, — that  Real  Self  which 
God  caused  to  become  manifest  in  "His  image  and  like- 
ness'* and  which  never  changes. 

The  Spiritual  Eye  of  man  sees  the  Real  Man  who  is 
never  changed  by  any  expression  of  change  which  may 
take  place  in  the  natural  or  outer  man;  even  so  the 
real  rose  is  not  disturbed  or  changed,  though  the  petals 
fall  and  the  outer  rose  passes  into  nothingness.  Though 
again  and  again  this  rose-garment  is  woven  and  worn 
and  fades,  passing  away,  the  spirit  of  the  real  rose  re- 
mains and  is  beautiful  at  all  times  to  the  Spiritual  Seer 
who  beholds  with  the  inner  vision.  It  is  thus  the  Spirit- 
ual Sight  sees  man. 

As  man  looks  at  the  beauty  of  nature  and  revels  in 
it,  let  him  recall  the  greatness  of  God's  beauty  which 
lies  just  beyond  the  curtain  in  the  Glorious  Light  which 
the  eye  of  the  natural  man  cannot  pierce. 

"The  wisdom  of  God  is  foolishness  to  the  Adam- 
Man."  When  Adam  heard  the  Voice  of  God  in  the 
garden  in  the  cool  of  the  evening,  calling,  "Adam, 
where  art  thou?"  the  carnal  mind  which  was  forming 
in  man's  consciousness  answered,  "We  are  naked" 
"and  have  hidden  ourselves  and  we  are  making  gar- 
ments that  we  may  clothe  our  nakedness."  Man  has 
been  busy  making  coverings  for  himself  ever  since  that 
evening  in  the  long  ago.  Some  are  as  busy  now  as  then, 
weaving  their  mantle  of  carnality  around  them. 

But  some  there  are,  and  it  is  only  a  few  compared  to 
the  great  number,  who  have  awakened  from  the  carnal 
sleep  which  began  to  overcome  them  in  the  Garden  of 


259 

Eden  and  retraced  their  steps  over  the  winding  path 
and  have  arrived  at  the  manger  where  the  Young  Child 
lies,  wrapped  in  swaddling-clothes  and  received  the 
Christ  and  thereafter  pressed  onward  upon  the  Path. 
Perhaps  many  are  now  consciously  traversing  the  laby- 
rinth of  God's  Glory  and  are  endeavoring  to  assist 
others  that  they  may  receive  the  same  blessings.  The 
beatitudes  of  the  Soul, — none  can  tell  but  those  who 
perceive  them.  The  Spiritually  awakened  and  Spirit- 
conscioused  man  sees  in  the  Glory  of  God  His  great 
beauty,  which  transcends  all  visible  beauty,  it  is  so 
vital.  Should  he  look  steadfastly  toward  heaven,  which 
is  Harmony,  Love  and  Perfection,  he  will  see  the  im- 
perfect in  the  outer  form  of  man,  such  as  disease,  pain 
and  old  age  disappear  and  the  Real  Man,  ''The  image 
and  likeness  of  God,''  become  evident.  God's  glory  is 
so  great.  His  Love  so  strong.  His  Beauty  so  magnificent, 
that  He  is  ever  ready  to  flood  the  outer  concept  with 
the  evidence  of  His  Presence.  It  is  then  that  man  finds 
himself  healed  of  every  infirmity. 

When  man  grows  weary  of  the  clouds,  fog  and  damp 
mists  of  earth  and  endeavors  to  pierce  the  gloom,  God 
in  all  His  Glory  and  Beauty  is  waiting  to  respond. 
When  God  responds  to  any  cry,  harmony,  health  and 
peace  are  realized  in  expression. 

God  is  not  responsible  for  man's  being  in  the  fog 
and  mist  of  carnality,  where  he  sees  only  nature  in  ex- 
pression, where  he  knows  man  only  from  the  cradle 
to  the  grave.  Mists  arise  over  the  lowlands,  when  the 
sun's  warm  rays  overshadow  it.  The  sun  shines,  but 
the  mist  is  the  result  of  nature's  law.  Through  natural 
law  the  mist  is  consumed  by  the  sun's  bright  rays.  So, 
in  God's  Eternal  Law,  the  carnal  concept  of  man  will 
be  consumed  by  the  Eternal  sun,  the  Son  of  Righteous- 
ness, which  is  God  Himself  in  manifestation. 

When  God  reposed,  He  was  impersonal  and  unman- 
ifest.  When  He  expressed.  He  became  manifest  in  form 
and  the  Universe  and  systems  of  universes  and  man, 


260  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

''The  crowning  glory  of  God"  and  ''God's  image  and 
likeness/'  became  individualized. 

When  man  becomes  fully  conscious  of  this,  he  will 
walk  in  the  labyrinth  of  God's  Glory  and,  in  the  White 
Light  of  that  glory,  man  will  see  the  magnitude  of 
God's  beauty,  and  breathe  in  rhythm  with  the  Holy 
Breath  and  smilingly  welcome  the  soft  zephyr  which 
is  God's  Love. 

Glory  to  God!  "Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on 
earth,  Peace,  Good  Will  to  man."  "The  Glory  of  God 
may  fill  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea, ' '  but  none 
but  the  initiate  will  recognize  it  and  become  benefited. 

There  were  only  a  few  who  recognized  Jesus  as  the 
Christ  when  He  was  walking  over  the  Judean  hills  and 
teaching  in  the  synagogues  in  Jerusalem;  and  it  was 
only  those  who  saw  in  Him  the  Messiah  who  were  ben- 
efited by  His  presence. 

A  man  has  a  garden  where  the  rarest  and  most  beau- 
tiful flowers  grow.  With  great  care  and  expense  he 
keeps  it,  but  a  blind  man  will  walk  carelessly  through 
and  tread  upon  the  orchids,  violets  and  carnations  as 
contentedly  as  if  he  were  walking  in  the  barren  desert. 
Why  is  this  so?  Because  to  him  it  is  a  barren  desert 
and  nothing  more.  When  a  blind  man  becomes  touched 
by  the  Glory  of  God,  his  eyes  will  open.  He  may  not 
be  enabled  to  see  the  full  light  at  once,  but  day  by 
day  the  Light  will  grow  brighter  to  him,  if  he  will  keep 
his  face  turned  toward  the  Light. 

The  Glory  of  God  fills  the  earth,  even  now,  as  the 
water  fills  the  sea.  Who  recognizes  it?  Who  perceives 
the  greatness  of  the  presence  of  the  glory  of  God?  The 
initiate  who  is  walking  in  the  Glory  Initiation,  not  only 
recognizes  the  glory  which  fills  the  earth,  but  he,  too, 
is  filled  with  the  Light  of  the  Glory  of  God.  Jesus 
Christ  remembered  the  ecstasy  and  bliss  which  He  en- 
joyed while  in  Paradise  before  the  world  was ;  the  glory 
being  so  great,  it  had  not  departed  from  His  memory. 


The  Beauty  of  God  261 

In  the  glory  of  God  there  can  be  no  disease,  no  sor- 
row, no  poverty,  no  death,  because  the  glory  of  God 
is  so  great  that  it  consumes  these.  The  carnal  man 
cannot  dwell  in  the  Glory  of  God,  because  "God  is  a 
consuming  fire"  and  consumes  all  which  is  unlike  Him- 
self. 

As  the  Initiate  walks  in  the  labyrinth  of  God's  glory, 
he  gathers  the  gleanings  which  the  reapers  have  left  in 
the  field,  such  gleanings  are  left  by  the  command  of 
the  King,  and  plucks  the  flowers  along  the  Path,  too 
delicate  are  they  for  description.  The  fruits  are  luscious 
and  tender,  the  grain  golden  and,  in  the  Light  of  Eter- 
nal Glory,  which  is  the  Light,  warmth  and  Love  which 
is  God,  man  is  in  rhythm  with  God  and  all  that  is.  He 
hears  the  music  of  the  Spheres  as  the  harmonious 
rhythms  vibrate  through  the  labyrinth;  and,  in  the 
ecstasy  of  Bliss,  rests  in  the  Glory  which  is,  was  and 
ever  will  be. 

In  serenity  the  initiate  passes  through  the  labyrinth 
of  God's  Glory  and  hears  the  birds  warbling  their  sweet 
notes  and  the  cattle  lowing  in  contentment.  He  sees 
the  lambs  skipping  about  and  the  fish  in  the  sea  and 
the  beasts  in  the  forest  contentedly  living  their  life, — 
all  save  man  who  is  living  in  the  carnal  concept  of  him- 
self and  the  universe, — content  and  restful. 

As  the  boat  is  rocked  by  the  waves  of  the  sea,  so  man 
is  held  in  the  ever-present  Love  and  Power  of  God.  It 
is  when  man  awakens  sufficiently  to  understand  the 
omnipresence  of  God  that  he  recognizes  the  Living 
Presence  of  God,  our  Loving  Father  who  is  ever  near. 
When  man  awakens,  his  traveling  is  upon  the  Sacred 
Path,  and,  as  man  travels  this  Path,  God's  glory  be- 
comes brighter  until  its  Light  is  more  resplendent  than 
the  noon-day  sun. 

The  glory  of  God  transforms  the  initiate,  as  he  moves 
forward  upon  the  Sacred  Path,  from  the  carnal  man 
with  his  desires,  cares,  fears  and  doubts  which  are  of 
the  earth,  until  he  becomes  in  expression  the  perfect 


262  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

manifestation  of  the  Living  God.  Then  it  is  that  he  is 
freed  from  carnal  bondage  into  the  glorious  liberty  of 
the  beauty  of  the  Sons  of  God.  This  is  the  destiny  of 
all  men, — ^yea,  it  is  their  inheritance. 

The  length  of  time  required  for  man's  transition  from 
the  carnal  dream,  depends  upon  the  desire  and  energy 
put  forth  by  the  man  after  he  has  become  awakened. 
Some  may  desire  to  sleep  in  sluggishness  for  days,  weeks 
or  years.  However,  they  will  not  be  permitted  to  re- 
main continuously  in  the  earth-dream,  because  they 
have  started  upon  the  Sacred  Path.  The  Light  is  bright 
and  the  angels  are  ever  watching  over  those  who  are 
upon  the  Path,  and  sometime  they  will  come  into  the 
Glory  of  God.  As  man  turns  his  face  toward  the 
brightness  of  God,  he  begins  to  reflect  God's  glory,  and, 
in  time,  as  he  passes  forward  upon  the  Path,  his  Mind, 
Body,  Soul  and  Spirit  become  at-one  with  God's  Glory. 
Then  the  Glorious  Son  of  God  moves  in  the  labyrinth 
of  the  Glory  of  God,  and  he  is  conscious  of  God's  Beauty 
in  Man  and  in  the  Universe. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
THE  SCIENTIFIC  TRUTH. 

IN  the  preceding  chapters,  God  has  been  portrayed 
in  all  His  different  aspects,  the  One-ness,  the  Whole- 
ness, the  Inseparableness  dwelt  upon,  that  the 
reader  may  comprehend  the  Great-I-Am  in  its  unmani- 
fest  and  manifest  states. 

The  one  who  follows  the  teachings  given  in  this  book 
from  the  first  unto  the  last  chapters,  with  a  desire  for 
his  mind  to  expand  even  unto  the  height,  breadth  and 
depth  of  God  will  be  blest  with  the  fulfillment  of  his 
desires,  if  he  bring  to  this  study  a  mind  that  is  cleansed 
of  superstitions,  doubts  and  fears. 

God  is  Love,  Power,  Peace,  Light,  Life,  Justice,  Har- 
mony and  Intelligence.  Then  for  these  different  as- 
pects of  the  Infinite  to  each  continually  perform  their 
part  and  not  interfere  with  each  other,  there  necessarily 
is  Law  and  this  Law  is  scientific.  This  Scientific  Law 
is  embodied  in  the  God-Head,  the  Infinite,  the  First  and 
only  Cause. 

In  the  Spiritual  Universe,  which  is  never  touched  nor 
contaminated  by  carnality,  although  it  is  ever-present, 
everything  moves  in  harmony,  filled  with  Life,  Light 
and  Justice.  In  the  Scientific  Law,  science  is  exact  and 
everything  moves  scientifically. 

In  the  beginning,  when  the  universe  and  systems  of 
universes  began  to  take  form,  this  Scientific  Law  was 
in  action  and  from  the  unmanifest  substance,  which  is 
and  was,  that  spirit-substance-essence  which  is  God,  the 
visible  became  manifest. 

263 


264  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

There  could  not  be  a  mistake,  for  all  was  moving 
scientifically,  in  harmony  and  rhythm.  Not  an  atom 
of  earth,  a  blade  of  grass,  neither  a  grain  of  sand  came 
into  expression,  neither  continues  in  expression,  except 
in  the  Scientific  Law  of  Truth. 

This  Law  is  in  operation  in  the  earth.  It  is  intelli- 
gently causing  the  minerals  to  form  in  the  bowels  of 
the  earth.  In  this  Scientific  Law  the  life  which  is  in 
every  atom  is  kept  in  action  continuously.  We  see, 
therefore,  that  the  earth  is  a  living,  pulsating  thing; 
not  a  thing  in  it  by  chance,  but  everything,  from  the 
atom  to  the  granite  and  marble  mountains  is  in  its 
right  place  and  held  there  in  the  Law  which  is  Scientific 
Action. 

The  air  is  also  filled  with  this  same  Law  and  moves 
and  acts,  not  by  chance,  but  scientifically.  The  w^armth 
of  the  tropical  zone  and  the  cold  at  the  north  pole  are 
scientifically  adjusted. 

This  same  God-Law  causes  the  life  in  the  acorn  to 
burst  the  shell  and,  in  the  action  of  this  Law,  grow  into 
a  giant  oak.  It,  also,  causes  the  life  in  the  rose-bush 
to  press  forward  until  it  expands  into  a  beautiful  rose ; 
quietly,  intelligently  and  scientifically  this  infinite  life 
expresses  through  the  rose-bush  and  out  into  the  rose. 

No  thing  happens  by  chance,  neither  does  Infinite 
Intelligence  do  an  idle  thing.  Life  expresses  through 
the  rose,  that  man  may  feel  the  Love  of  the  Father- 
Mother-God,  as  they  look  upon  the  rose.  His  smile. 

There  is  but  one  mind,  the  mind  of  God;  but  one 
Law,  the  scientific  Law  of  God;  and  these  operate  in 
and  through  and  throughout  the  manifestations  of  God, 
which  compose  the  Perfect  Creation,  and  every  expres- 
sion in  form,  from  the  universe,  the  many  systems  of 
universes  to  man,  the  highest  expression. 

When  man  through  insight  perceives  this  great  Truth 
and  scientifically  stays  his  mind  upon  God,  what  will 
be  the  final  result?  Man,  having  eonsicously  placed 
his  mind   in   conjunction   with    the   Divine   Mind,    he, 


The  Scientific  Truth  265 

like  the  rose-bush,  becomes  a  channel  for  the  mind  of 
God  to  express  through;  and,  as  the  law  of  God  oper- 
ates in  and  through  all,  at  all  times  and  everywhere, 
this  law  will  scientifically  act  through  man.  As  the 
rose  is  the  expression  of  the  life's  action,  so  the  wisdom 
of  God  will  be  the  expression  of  the  mind  of  the  man 
whose  mind  is  understandingly  united  with  the  God- 
mind,  and  wisdom  is  the  fruit  of  the  scientific  action  of 
this  mind  upon  the  individual  ego,  when  man  brings 
about  his  conscious  at-one-ment  with  the  Father.  As 
the  Life  and  Intelligence  required  a  form,  the  bush,  to 
express  through  to  bring  the  rose  into  expression,  so 
God-mind  requires  a  form  to  express  through,  that 
wisdom  become  manifest,  and  man's  body  is  this  form. 

Man,  as  an  individualized  expression  of  God,  is  alone 
with  God.  There  is  God  and  man,  from  man's  view- 
point; but,  from  the  All-seeing  eye,  there  is  only  God 
and  His  expressions,  or  rays.  The  Infinite  expresses 
and  expands  through  the  man,  as  the  Infinite  Intelli- 
gence desires,  as  long  as  man's  mind  is  in  conjunction 
with  the  Divine  Mind.  When  the  rose-bush,  through 
any  cause  whatsoever,  refuses  to  be  a  free  and  accept- 
ing channel  for  the  Infinite  life  to  flow  through,  there 
are  blasted  buds.  The  blasted  buds,  the  stagnant  pools 
of  water,  the  diseased  bodies  of  matter,  are  not  vibrant 
with  God's  sicentific  Law,  because  this  Law  is  action, 
and  in  action  there  is  not,  nor  can  there  be,  stagnation. 
If  the  pool  is  opened  for  an  inflow  and  outflow  for  the 
water,  what  is  the  result?  A  pond  of  pure  water,  and 
the  animals  and  birds  will  come  to  drink.  How  do  the 
animals,  birds,  even  the  serpents,  know  this  pool  has 
become  pure  water  again?  Through  the  Infinite  intel- 
ligence which  guides  them.  It  guides  the  Real  of  each. 
These  outer  are  guided  by  what  the  carnal  man  calls 
instinct;  then,  instinct  in  animal,  bird,  fish,  fowl,  rep- 
tile, is  the  outer  expression  of  the  Wisdom  which  notes 
even  ''the  sparrow's  fall."    This  is  man  in  intuition. 

The  scientific  law  of  God  acts  as  scientifically  in  guid- 


266  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

ing  the  reptile,  animals  and  birds  to  the  pure  water 
as  in  expressing  the  rose-bush  until  the  rose  becomes 
manifest. 

The  scientific  Truth  is  the  action  of  God,  the  Infinite, 
in  and  through  God's  Perfect  Creation,  expressing 
through  the  outer,  so  that  man  in  any  state  of  con- 
sciousness can  recognize  it,  if  he  so  desires.  Scientific 
Law  acts  intelligently,  because  it  is  God  in  action. 

This  Law  is  intelligently  in  action  in  the  earth. 
Where  today  a  desert  stretches  over  the  surface  of  the 
earth  in  the  unfolding  into  expression  of  the  One  Life, 
a  forest  will  eventually  come  forth  silently; — all  in 
Rhythm,  Harmony  and  Law. 

Some  may  ask,  for  what  does  this  forest  come  forth? 
God  knoweth! 

The  Truth,  which  is  God,  is  intelligent  scientific  ac- 
tion. Then  man  can  see  that  there  can  be  no  discordant 
note  in  all  God's  universe,  vast  though  it  is;  for  "God 
rests  in  action,"  breathes  in  love  and  smiles  through 
expression. 

When  man  perceives  God's  scientific  action  in  and 
through  the  rose-bush  and  rose;  in  and  through  man's 
mind  and  body;  in  and  through  the  forming  and  bring- 
ing into  expression  of  the  forest  where  now  the  desert 
waste  covers  the  surface  of  the  earth,  he  will  look  deeper 
and  higher  that  he  may  understand  this  Law  and  man's 
relation  thereto. 

The  Science  of  God  expressed  in  Law  causes  the  ebb 
and  flow  of  the  tide  in  the  great  ocean.  This  same  Law 
acts  continuously  through  the  vastness  of  the  Infinite, 
in  all  universes  and  systems  of  universes,  and  through 
all  that  in  them  is;  and  through  each  and  all  men. 
This  is  a  scientific  truth,  which,  recognized  and  under- 
stood by  man,  would  be  of  vast  assistance  to  him  in 
his  endeavor  to  extricate  himself  in  consciousness  from 
the  web  of  carnality. 

The  action  of  this  Scientific  Law,  which  causes  the 
ebb  and  flow  of  the  tide  in  the  ocean  acts  in  and  through 


The  Scientific  Truth  267 

the  whole  of  it, — through  the  inner  and  outer  of  every 
drop  in  the  ocean  and  in  all  the  collectivity  of  drops 
which  compose  the  ocean.  This  same  Law  acts  through- 
out creation;  the  inner  and  the  outer.  When  man 
through  understanding  places  his  body  en  rapport  with 
the  Real  Self,  which  is  in  action  in  the  Scientific  Law, 
his  body  will  become  quickened  and  finally  redeemed, 
just  as  the  stagnant  pool  of  water  is  changed  into 
purity  by  the  inflow  and  outlet  of  the  water. 

There  is  no  standing  still  in  God;  for  God  is  Scien- 
tific Action,  yet  ''God  rests  in  action." 

When  man  understands  the  Scientific  Truth,  which 
is  God  manifest  and  unmanifest,  man,  too,  will  rest  in 
action.  This  is  the  state  of  conscious  understanding 
which  poets  have  endeavored  to  express  as  they  vision 
man  sitting  beside  the  River  of  Life  under  the  ever- 
green tree  of  Life,  the  fields  surrounding  him  ever 
green  and  the  sheep  all  gathered  into  the  fold. 

These  Great  Truths  can  be  portrayed  scientifically 
or  can  be  sung  in  poetic  rhythm  from  the  Soul  which 
has  vision.  The  Great  Truth  is  the  same ;  but  some  will 
catch  the  sweetness,  tenderness  and  Love  of  God,  our 
Father,  through  poetical  rhythm,  while  others  require 
the  scientific  explanation  of  the  same  great  Truth. 

The  Infinite  desires  that  the  mind  and  heart  of  all 
men  return  to  Him  and  be  stayed  upon  Him.  The 
method  is  not  so  much  considered  by  Infinite  Love  as 
the  conscious  return  of  man  to  his  inheritance. 

When  man  learns  that  God  is  Scientific  Truth,  he 
will  then  see  that  his  mind  should  become  scientific  to 
be  enabled  to  co-operate  with  and  respond  to  the  Scien- 
tific Law,  which  same  Law  in  and  through  intelligent 
action  causes  impurities  to  become  pure;  stagnation. 
Life;  disease.  Health.  This  is  the  deep  Truth  back 
where  the  curtain  hangs  which  screens  the  Infinite  from 
the  finite.  This  Truth  is  not  far  away,  but  lies  within 
man's  own  mind  and  mental  concept.    When  the  men- 


268  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

tal  concept  is  clarified  by  Truth,  the  Real  Man  is  evi- 
dent. 

When  the  Christ  expands  to  the  outer  bounds  of  the 
earth,  the  body,  (the  veil),  the  curtain  is  rent  in  twain 
from  top  to  bottom  and  the  light  penetrates  the  whole 
being.  Body,  Mind,  Soul  and  Spirit.  No  longer  can 
the  tomb  hold  this  consciousness,  neither  the  instrument 
through  which  this  conscious  mind  expresses.  He  has 
risen!  The  scientific  Law,  in  ceaseless  action,  acts  in 
the  tomb  as  in  the  ascension. 

If  God  is  Scientific  Truth,  His  Law  Scientific  Action, 
and  ''God  rests  in  action,*'  we  ask,  can  man  be  or  be- 
come harmonious  if  not  scientific  himself?  Can  man 
co-operate  with  God,  unless  he  learns  to  know  Him  and 
His  Law  ?  If  man 's  mind  is  stayed  on  God  and  he  loves 
Him  with  his  whole  mind  and  strength,  the  sequence 
will  be  that  he  will  learn  the  scientific  aspect  of  God, 
because  ''The  Father  ever  knoweth  what  man  hath 
need  of  before  he  asks,"  and  He  will  reveal  to  him  ac- 
cording as  the  man  desires  to  know,  be  it  on  the  surface 
of  things  or  in  the  depth  of  Being. 

It  is  man  who  returns  to  God;  not  God  that  returns 
to  man. 

When  man  understands  the  attributes  of  the  Infinite 
and  places  himself  in  rhythm  therewith  and  in  under- 
standing thereof,  and  sicentifically,  he  will  become  a 
conscious  expression,  in  and  through  his  Body,  Mind, 
Soul,  Spirit, — one  conscious  Life,  and  man  in  at-one- 
ment  with  that  Infinite  Conscious  Life. 

It  can  easily  be  seen,  by  the  reason  at  least,  that  a 
sick  man  or  one  in  poverty  or  anxiety  is  not  scientific. 
If  he  were,  he  would,  should  these  conditions  present 
themselves  to  him,  place  his  whole  being  scientifically 
en  rapport  with  God's  Scientific  Law  of  Life,  which  is 
action;  and,  as  stagnation  cannot  remain  in  action, 
neither  can  disease,  anxiety,  nor  death  abide  in  scien- 
tific action.  Jesus  said,  "Ye  shall  know  the  Truth,  and 
the  Truth  shall  make  you  free."    Now  note,  it  is  know- 


The  Scientific  Truth  269 

ing  the  Truth,  which  the  Great  Master  said  would  make 
man  free.  Isaiah  said,  ''The  way  is  so  plain  that  a 
wayfaring  man,  though  a  fool,  need  not  err  therein.'' 
Then  we  see  that  it  is  not  a  stupendous  undertaking 
to  learn  to  know  God  and  His  Law,  and  man,  God's 
manifestation. 

It  is  only  a  step,  brothers,  though  the  journey  seems 
to  wind  over  barren  deserts,  through  the  wilderness, 
over  the  seas  deep,  and  mountains  steep ;  and,  though  it 
requires  forty  years '  wanderings,  it  is  only  a  step :  for 
"God  is  nearer  than  hands  and  feet,"  yes,  He  is  your 
very  Breath,  your  very  Life  and  the  Spirit-Substance 
of  which  your  Real  form  is  composed.  When  you 
vision  this,  you  have  made  the  journey.  Count  not  the 
foot-steps,  even  though  the  feet  are  bleeding  from  walk- 
ing over  the  stony  path.  Ever  keep  the  mind's  eye, 
the  inner  eye  of  the  Real  Self,  stayed  upon  the  goal 
and  the  destination.  Your  full  redemption  in  Bod}'^, 
Mind,  Soul  and  Spirit  is  the  goal;  and  the  Father's 
House,  your  Home,  is  the  destination. 

Scientific  Truth?  Yes;  for  sicence  is  knowing,  and 
God  is  Scientific  Action.  Thus  man  can  see,  in  all  of 
God's  domain  that  there  is  no  death,  no  anxiety  and 
no  fear  of  anything  therein;  for  God  is  Scientific  Ac- 
tion; and  Harmony,  Peace  and  Contentment  are  the 
expressed  fruits  of  His  actions. 

Scientific  Action,  in  God's  Law  and  Life,  acts  in  all 
spheres,  and  Life  is  as  vibrant  in  one  sphere  as  an- 
other. Thus  the  carnal  man  can  see  that  life  is  as  real 
and  active  on  the  planes  where  the  departed  of  earth 
are,  as  here  on  this  earth  plane.  How  could  it  be  other- 
wise? When  God  is  all  and  fills  all  space?  Then  true 
it  is,  ' '  there  is  no  place  where  God  is  not. ' '  Then  there 
is  no  real  cause  for  grief  when  friends  depart,  because 
they  are  in  God's  Scientific  Life,  there  as  here. 

What  do  we  wish  to  convey  by  Scientific  Action? 
That  God  is  "All  Knowing,  All  Seeing,  All  Action;" 
and  these,  expressed  in  and  through  Life,  Power,  Peace, 


270  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Love,  Light,  bring  God  into  expression  so  that  the  car- 
nal man  can  comprehend  Him  sufficiently  to  trust,  love 
and  revere  Him. 

The  Scientific  Law  of  Action  is  so  great  that  it  acts 
in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  on  the  earth's  surface,  in 
the  air  above  the  earth,  in  the  blue  dome  far  above 
the  earth,  and  farther  and  farther  beyond  man's  ken; 
and  in  the  ocean  depths,  in  the  sand,  the  grass,  vege- 
tation, animals,  minerals;  and  in  and  through  man, 
the  highest  expression  of  God. 

When  man  becomes  scientific,  will  this  remove  love 
and  reverence  for  our  Heavenly  Father  from  his  mind 
and  heart?    Not  if  he  has  the  Christ  born  within  him. 

Jesus  Christ  understood  the  Spiritual  Scientific  Law, 
and,  through  His  clear  Illumination  concerning  His 
At-one-ment  with  the  Father,  Jesus  touched  this  Law 
when  He  so  desired  and  brought  it  into  manifestation 
in  the  outer  world  of  man  and  things. 

Jesus  always  remembered  His  Father  and  gave  to  Him 
the  glory  of  His  works  through  recognizing  it  was  the 
Father  who  did  the  works. 

When  the  scientific  aspect  of  the  Infinite  is  compre- 
hended by  the  intellect  alone,  man  is  cold;  as  where 
can  there  come  warmth  from  the  principle  of  a  thing? 
When  man  learns  that  there  is  a  Creator  back  of  the 
principle,  he  will  open  his  heart,  so  that  the  golden 
glow  of  Love  may  fill  it,  even  to  over-flowing. 

The  science  of  mathematics  is  complete  and  can  be 
proven  so  to  be;  but  there  is  no  love,  warmth,  nor  life 
in  it.  It  only  expresses  its  Creator.  So  with  the  Scien- 
tific Truth,  which  is  God;  it  only  expresses  God, — its 
Creator,  who  brings  this  aspect  of  Himself  into  ex- 
pression, that  man  may  learn  to  assist  himself  to  arise 
and  move  out  from  the  maze  of  the  web  of  carnality; 
for  there  is  no  permanent  abiding  place  in  carnality, 
as  its  foundation  is  shifting  sand. 

But  God,  who  is  Truth,  is  Solid  Rock  and  cannot  be 


The  Scientific  Truth  271 

touched  or  shaken  by  the  changeableness  of  carnality. 
** Truth  is  Unchangeable,  Indivisible  and  Eternal." 

When  the  mind  of  man  is  weary  and  disturbed  by 
the  things  he  encounters  in  carnality,  if  he  will  learn 
the  Scientific  Law  of  God,  he  can  relieve  his  mind  of 
these  carnal  concepts.  When  this  is  accomplished,  the 
mind  of  God,  the  Divine-Mind,  can  operate  in  and 
through  him  in  Scientific  Action. 

In  the  Scientific  Law,  there  cannot  be  discord,  dis- 
ease, nor  death;  then  it  is  easy  to  see  that  carnality 
does  not  abide  in  this  Law.  If  this  Law  is  an  attribute 
of  God,  it  fills  all  space.  Then  where  is  carnality? 
It  abides  in  the  shadows;  it  is  the  illusion.  A  shadow 
and  an  illusion  require  no  place  to  abide ;  for  the  simple 
reason,  they  are  not  real.  It  is  the  Ileal  that  requires 
an  abiding  place, — ^yea,  that  hath  an  abiding  place. 

The  Real  is  the  manifestation  of  the  Living  God,  and 
abides  in  God,  and  "God  is  the  center  and  circum- 
ference of  all.* 

When  man  is  asleep  in  the  carnal  dream,  he  knows 
not  of  the  Law  of  Eternal  Action,  and  he,  not  knowing 
of  this  Law,  is  not  en  rapport  with  it;  consequently 
he  remains  asleep.  Some  day  he  will  awaken.  Then 
he  will  feel  the  urge  of  the  Soul,  his  Real  Self,  which 
is  forever  en  rapport  with  the  Scientific  Law,  which  is 
the  Law  of  Life.  Soul,  being  Conscious  Life,  man  can- 
not become  detached  from  it,  and  if  he  could,  there 
would  be  no  Soul  expressed.  This  cannot  take  place, 
because  the  Soul  is  the  individualized  manifestation  of 
the  Life  which  is  God;  and  God,  being  Scientific  Ac- 
tion, Soul  is  an  expression  of  Scientific  Action,  which 
is  Conscious  Life. 

The  man  who  is  an  inventive  genius,  whose  eye  has 
caught  unexpectedly  upon  some  common  place  occur- 
rence, and  whose  mind  meditating  upon  it,  brings  forth 
inventions  for  the  benefit  of  mankind, — as  he,  seem- 
ingly accidentally,  noticed  it,  as  it  is  with  the  carnal 
man;  he  seems  to  touch  this  Scientific  Law  of  Action 


272  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

by  chance,  but  it  is  not  so,  as  nothing  happens  by  chance. 

When  man  begins  to  awaken,  he  comes,  at  least,  once 
in  a  while,  in  touch  with  the  Scientific  Action  of  God; 
and  this  never  ceasing  action  quickens  him  as  long  as 
he  is  in  harmony  with  it,  be  it  one  moment,  one  hour, 
one  day  or  longer.  However,  no  man  awakens  at  once 
from  sound  sleep  into  conscious  union  with  the  action 
which  is  the  Eternal  Law  of  Action,  perfect  and  com- 
plete; because  the  carnal  sleep  is  so  heavy  that  after  a 
period  of  awakeness,  man  desires  a  little  more  slumber 
and  turns  his  back  toward  the  Law  of  Action,  and  his 
face  to  the  wall,  which  wall  is  carnality,  the  great  illu- 
sion. 

After  man  is  thoroughly  awake  and  desires  to  become 
at-one  with  the  Scientific  Law  of  Truth,  it  requires 
effort  on  his  part. 

First  the  awakening,  then  the  desire,  then  the  effort; 
for  man  must  do  his  part  in  this,  as  in  all  other  things ; 
this  is  working  out  his  own  salvation.  This  need  not 
be  done  in  fear  and  trembling;  but  in  Wisdom,  Love 
and  Understanding. 

This  Law,  being  Perfect  and  Scientific,  when  man  be- 
comes understandingly  at-one  with  it,  he  begins  to 
move  out  from  the  web  of  carnality;  and,  when  he  is 
completely  in  rhythm  with  the  ceaseless  action  of  God, 
disease,  old  age  and  death  have  disappeared;  because 
these  cannot  abide  in  the  rapid  action  of  the  Scientific 
Law  of  Eternal  Action,  which  is  God.  This  is  brought 
about,  first  by  mental  change,  then  a  deeper  percep- 
tion, then  a  Spiritual  quickening,  then  the  New  Birth; 
then  on  and  on  upon  the  Path,  until  full  Illumination 
takes  place  and  man  is  Redeemed,  Body,  Mind,  Soul 
and  Spirit. 

When  man  in  Paradise  began  to  look  outward  and 
to  desire  a  change  and  found  himself  in  the  Garden  of 
Eden,  he  had  lost  his  equilibrium;  therefore,  became 
dis-joined  from  this  Scientific  Law  of  Action  and  stag- 
nation and  death  began  to  take  place. 


The  Scientific  Truth  273 

At  first  man  lived  hundreds  of  years,  but  gradually 
the  illusions  of  carnality  encroached  upon  him  until 
at  the  close  of  the  twentieth  century  man's  life  is  at  an 
average  of  thirty-three  years. 

When  man  consciously  and  understandingly  comes 
into  and  remains  in  union  with  this  Scientific  Law  of 
Truth,  which  is  God  in  Harmonious  Action,  he  will  dwell 
indefinitely  upon  the  earth,  as  Conscious  Life  will  have 
control  and  not  disease,  matter  and  death. 

When  man  first  awakens  he,  perhaps,  will  place  his 
mind  only  at  times,  en  rapport  with  the  Scientific  Law 
of  Action.  When  a  deeper  awakening  stirs  within  him, 
he  will  place  his  body,  also,  in  rhythm  with  this  Law  and, 
according  as  he  succeeds,  will  harmony,  which  results  in 
health,  become  manifest  in  the  body,  and,  according  to 
his  faith  and  understanding,  will  the  results  be. 

In  this  Scientific  Law,  God  is  forever  the  doer.  His 
Law  is  perfect;  and,  when  man  is  aroused  from  his 
earth's  slumber  and  desires  to  be  cleansed  of  the  debris 
of  earth  and  hears  of  this  Law,  and  will  learn  to  step 
into  it,  as  he  does  so  he  will  become  quickened  into  a 
newness  of  Life.  If  he  will  continue  to  stand  there  in 
that  electrical  current  of  Almighty  God,  he  will  become 
as  clean  as  a  threshing  floor  after  the  winds  have  swept 
away  the  chaff. 

What  is  there  of  man  after  the  winds  have  swept  all 
his  possessions  away;  as  the  Adversary  did  to  Job? 
Man's  Real  Self.  That  which  is  the  ** Image  and  like- 
ness of  God."  That  which  even  the  adversary  cannot 
touch.  It  is  that  which  God  caused  to  become  manifest ; 
and  what  God  does,  He  does !  and  it  changeth  not. 

Man  thus  can  see  that  his  eye  should  be  turned  within 
and  that  there  he  should  realize  his  Real  Self  which  he 
is.  Then,  from  that  center,  he  should  place  himself  in 
tune  with  the  Law  of  Action  and,  when  thus  placed,  his 
whole  being  becomes  attuned  and  each  organ  in  his  body 
will  become  harmonized  and  respond  in  health  and 
strength,  and  Peace  will  abound. 


274  T^E  Flashlights  op  Truth 

When  man  is  disturbed  in  his  mind  by  fear,  doubt, 
anxiety  or  care,  his  mind  is  not  adjusted  so  that  the 
Scientific  Law  of  Action  can  operate  through  it;  but 
when  man,  through  the  Scientific  Truth,  clears  his  mind 
of  these  and  understandingly  places  his  mind  in  union 
with  the  God-Mind,  he  will  perceive  a  clearness  come 
into  his  mind;  just  as  the  inflow  of  fresh  water  into  the 
stagnant  pool  causes  a  pure  pond  of  water  to  become 
manifest.  Remember  that  the  outlet  is  necessary,  as  you 
cannot  fill  a  vessel  that  is  already  full.  As  the  water 
in  the  pond,  when  purified,  is  of  use  to  the  animal,  bird, 
fowl  and  reptile ;  so  the  mind  of  man  when  thus  purified, 
is  of  service  to  mankind. 

As  long  as  the  inflow  and  outlet  remain  in  action  the 
water  is  pure.  Just  so  with  man ;  as  long  as  he  is  con- 
sciously connected  with  the  mind  of  God  he  will  be  pure, 
steadfast  and  true;  should  the  inflow  cease,  soon,  like 
the  pool,  will  he  become  stagnant;  and,  as  stagnant 
water  is  good  for  no-thing  neither  is  a  stagnant  mind  of 
any  service. 

When  the  man  in  mind,  or  the  water  in  the  pool,  be- 
comes stagnant,  each  has  lost  its  equilibrium  and  are  not 
in  the  Scientific  Law  of  Action;  but  they  remain  in  a 
lower  dimension  until  they  again  become  in  rhythm  with 
the  Law  of  Action  when  they  in  consciousness  will  func- 
tion in  a  higher  dimension.  Thus  it  can  easily  be  seen 
that  it  is  the  prerogative  of  man  to  determine,  whether 
he  swings  like  a  pendulum  from  one  state  of  conscious- 
ness to  another,  or  whether  he  go  direct  toward  the  mark 
of  the  ''high  calling  of  man  in  Christ  Jesus.'* 

Man  can  become  so  clear  in  understanding,  that  should 
he  desire  to  function  upon  another  plane,  which  is  in- 
visible to  the  carnal  man,  he,  through  understanding, 
can  arise  and  abide  there  or  return  here.  This  is  man's 
inheritance  when  he  is  freed  from  the  illusions  of  carna- 
lity. Birth  and  death'  are  incidents  upon  the  path,  which 
winds  its  way  through  carnality. 


The  Scientific  Truth  275 

Dear  reader,  believest  thou  this?  If  you  do  not,  you 
can  convince  yourself  by  setting  about  to  prove  it. 

When  man  is  living  in  the  carnal  concept  only,  his 
vibrations  are  slow  and  he  expresses  heaviness.  When 
he  is  somewhat  quickened,  his  vibrations  are  raised  into 
a  higher  state,  until  he  becomes  conscious  of  the  bliss  he 
felt  while  dwelling  in  Paradise  before  the  world  of  car- 
nality was. 

In  the  Scientific  Action  of  the  Law  of  Action,  there  is 
not,  a  discordant  sound.  There  is  not  an  inharmonious 
note  in  all  God's  vast  domain. 

God's  Law  of  Action  is  as  invisible  as  it  acts  in  and 
through  man,  as  when  it  acts  in  and  through  the  great 
oceans,  causing  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tide  as  the  water 
responds  to  this  Law  of  Action,  causing  purity  to 
abound  in  the  oceans.  God  is  everywhere  present;  and 
He  is  ever  ceaseless  action;  but  God  acts  in  wisdom, 
guided  by  the  intelligence  which  He  is. 

In  this  Scientific  aspect  of  God,  man  is  liable  to  lose 
sight  of  Love.  Therefore,  let  us  call  to  remembrance 
the  Love,  which  is  God,  which  expresses  through  all  his 
manifestations,  in  Law  and  Life  which  go  hand  in  hand, 
while  Light  is  their  hand-maiden.  Therefore  Law,  Life, 
Light  and  Love  are  attributes  of  God  and  are  every- 
where present.  If  your  heart  is  heavy  and  cold,  turn 
to  Love  which  is  God;  if  life  seems  to  ebb  low,  turn  to 
Life  which  is  God;  if  the  way  is  dark,  turn  your  face 
toward  the  Light  which  is  God  and  which  shines  forever- 
more. 

God  is  ever-present  and,  when  the  devotee  calls  upon 
Him,  He  responds  in  that  attribute  which  the  devotee 
desires. 

In  the  study  of  the  scientific  aspect  of  the  Infinite, 
our  Father-Mother,  let  us  not  lose  sight  of  the  great  fact, 
that  the  prayer  of  Faith  availeth  much;  but,  better  still, 
is  the  prayer  of  Faith  and  Understanding,  coupled  to- 
gether with  fervent  Love. 


276  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

The  science  which  pertains  to  man  is  for  his  use  in  his 
own  mind  and  body  only!  This  is  the  dominion  with 
which  God  endued  man  at  the  dawn,  when  man  became 
an  individualized  manifestation  of  the  Living  God. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

SCIENCE  IN  ACTION 

WE  have  expressed  God  in  the  preceding  chapter 
as  Scientific  Action.  In  this  chapter  we  desire 
to  bring  the  man  who  is  still  functioning  in 
carnality  into  the  understanding  of  the  Science  in  Ac- 
tion in  and  through  himself. 

As  we  have  stated  before,  God  gave  man  dominion  at 
the  dawn,  when  man  became  an  individualized  manifes- 
tation of  the  Living  God.  What  is  this  dominion  with 
which  God  endued  man  ?  Man  *s  power,  inherent  within 
him,  to  overcome  his  carnal  mind  and  subdue  the  physi- 
cal senses  which  express  through  his  body.  This  is  ac- 
complished through  the  Science  in  Action  in  and 
through  man.  When  man  awakens  and  learns  the  Sci- 
ence of  Being  and  applies  the  Law  of  Science,  which  en- 
ables him  to  extricate  himself  from  the  illusions  which 
form  carnality,  he  becomes  in  tune  with  the  Law  of  God, 
which  is  the  Scientific  Law  of  Action. 

When  man  begins  to  place  himself  en  rapport  with 
the  scientific  action  of  God,  he  uses  the  science  of  know- 
ing, and  this  is  placing  the  Science  in  Action  within 
his  own  mind  and  body.  This' is  man's  own  work.  God 
will  never  do  this  for  man. 

God  created  man  perfect  and  placed  him  in  a  perfect 
universe,  in  equilibrium ;  but  man,  having  inherent  with- 
in him  his  power  of  choice,  or  free-will;  permitted  him- 
self through  his  desire  to  look  outward  to  lose  his 
poise.  Having  lost  his  equilibrium,  he  could  not  remain 
in  the  paradisaical  state.    Man,  having  lost  his  state  of 

277 


278  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

consciousness,  he,  through  his  own  efforts  and  the  assist- 
ance of  God  and  His  angels,  must  again  gain  it. 

The  Law  is  fixed,  sure  and  steadfast  and  it  is  ceaseless 
action  forever  and  ever.  Then,  man  to  remain  or  be- 
come again,  if  lost  in  consciousness,  must  learn  how  to 
become  ceaseless  action;  not  moving  from  one  place  to 
another,  but  within  his  own  being  unceasingly  active; 
and  man*s  being  is  Body,  Mind,  Soul  and  Spirit, — One 
Completeness. 

When  man  awakens  from  the  carnal  sleep,  he  finds 
the  carnal  mind  in  control.  It  is  the  king  and  it  rules 
with  persistency.  It  is  after  man  awakens  that  he  per- 
ceives there  is  another  king  far  different  from  the  carnal 
king.  When  man  is  sufficiently  awakened,  he  will  begin 
to  investigate ;  and  here  is  where  he  learns  of  the  Scien- 
tific Action  of  God,  and  this  action  expressing  in  the 
Scientific  Law  of  Action,  which  is  Science. 

When  man  desires  to  place  himself  in  union  with  this 
Scientific  Action  of  God,  he  learns  that  he,  too,  must 
become  scientific.  He  then  begins  to  use  the  science  to 
cleanse  his  mind  of  the  carnal  concepts  which  the  king, 
carnal  mind,  has  firmly  established  as  real  in  his  mental- 
ity. Heredity  is  a  strong  belief,  for,  according  to  the 
carnal  mind,  man  is  born  into  an  inheritance  of  disease 
and  ignorance;  in  fact,  into  a  world  of  unkindness,  in 
which  old  age  and  death  are  the  inevitable  results. 

Here  is  where  the  science  is  set  in  action;  and  it  re- 
quires knowledge ;  and  this  is  gained  through  study  and 
continuous  application,  which  will  result  in  understand- 
ing. 

There  can  be  no  definite  results  from  the  action  of  the 
carnal  mind  upon  the  carnal  mind.  As  it  has  no  foun- 
dation, it  is  the  ** Blind  leading  the  blind''  and  both  will 
eventually  *'faU  into  the  ditch." 

But  when  man  has  fully  awakened  from  the  carnal 
slumber,  he  will  perceive  the  foundation  of  carnality  is 
shifting  sand.  He  then  will  desire  a  solid  foundation 
and,  by  searching,  he  will  find  the  Beal,  which  is  just 


Science  in  Action  279 

behind  the  carnal  expression,  both  in  mind  and  in  form. 

The  God-Mind  is  the  Real,  of  which  the  carnal  mind 
is  the  counterfeit.  Man,  to  return  to  his  lost  inheritance, 
finds  it  necessary  that  he  subdue  the  false  beliefs  which 
fill  his  conscious  mind,  that  he  may  be  enabled  to  unite 
with  the  God-Mind. 

There  is  nothing  given  to  man  which  will  enable  him 
to  eliminate  this  carnal  mind  king  but  Scientific  Truth. 
Jesus  Christ  left  rules  plain  and  clear  for  the  spiritually 
awakened  one. 

At  the  dawn,  when  man  became  an  individualized  ex- 
pression of  God,  in  "His  image  and  likeness,*'  man  was 
given  a  free-will,  that  he  might  choose  to  act  or  repose,  as 
he  should  desire.  This  free-will  is  all  which  man  really 
has ;  as  man  himself  belongs  to  God.  Man  is  in  the  Ocean 
of  Infinite  Life,  which  is  God,  and  is  a  part  of  that 
Ocean  and  cannot  get  out  of  or  away  from  it. 

Man  is  to  surrender  his  free-will  to  God ;  but  God  will 
never  take  it  from  man;  man  must  surrender  it  of  his 
own  free  choice.  Here  is  where  Science  in  Action  is 
required.  Man,  through  and  in  the  action  of  science,  can 
scientifically  erase  the  false  beliefs  which  fill  his  men- 
tality by  using  the  Scientific  Prayer,  in  and  through  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ. 

When  man  uses  the  Scientific  Truth  in  the  Christ-way, 
he  has  been  born  again ;  and,  being  born  into  the  Christ- 
mind,  he  sees  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Christ-man  in  ex- 
pression, and  the  perfect  pattern.  Then  he  reverently 
does  his  work  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  Soul  in  this  present  epoch  who  has 
reached  fullness  and  stepped  forth  in  full  God-conscious- 
ness, in  understanding  and  expression,  and  left  the  rules 
which  all  men  can  learn  when  they  arrive  at  the  place  on 
the  path  where  they  desire  it.  He  truly  is  the  Saviour 
and  Redeemer. 

Even  though  Jesus  has  solved  His  problem  to  the  final 
and  worked  it  out  by  precept  into  example,  man  will 


280  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

remain  in  the  wilderness  of  illusions  until  he,  through 
and  by  science,  washes  his  mind  of  the  carnal  concept  of 
himself,  humanity,  the  world  and  God,  as  the  carnal  man 
sees  and  understands. 

The  death  of  Jesus  upon  the  Cross  of  Calvary  never 
did  and  never  will  cleanse  man's  mind  of  the  carnal 
beliefs.  Neither  is  death  any  assistance  to  man,  because 
the  mind  remains  with  the  Soul  when  it  removes  from  the 
body  at  dissolution,  and  God,  Himself,  will  not  interfere 
with  man's  free-will.  Then  there  is  nothing  for  man,  as 
King  Solomon  said,  but  to  ''get  wisdom,"  and,  ''With  all 
thy  getting  get  understanding."  Jesus  said,  "Know  the 
Truth,  and  the  Truth  shall  make  you  free."  Science  is 
knowing,  and  the  science  or  metaphysics  will  make  man 
free  from  his  carnal  concept  of  man,  God  and  the  uni- 
verse, when  scientifically  set  in  action  by  man  within 
man. 

God 's  Scientific  Law  of  Action  is  Eternal  Action ;  then, 
when  man  understands  this,  and  also  the  science  of  plac- 
ing his  mind,  body.  Soul  and  Spirit  en  rapport  therewith, 
he  will  become  awake,  alive !  and  he  will  slumber  no  more, 
at  least  as  long  as  he  continues  in  tune  with  the  Scientific 
Action  of  God. 

What  does  man  learn  in  this  field  of  action,  where  he 
has  removed  himself  from  the  tyranny  of  the  carnal 
mind  ?  That  he  is  Immortal.  That  birth  and  death  are 
illusions,  ' '  vapory  dreams. ' '  That  time  is  an  imposition, 
feigning  power,  but  having  none.  That  care,  anxiety  and 
fear  are  deceptive  illusions.  When  man  learns  this  what 
does  he  do  1  He  sets  in  action  the  Science  of  Truth,  that 
he  may,  after  purifying  the  mind,  realize  the  Truth  of 
Being. 

He  takes  as  his  foundation  stone  upon  which  to  stand, 
"God  is  All;  there  is  none  beside  Him."  From  that 
foundation  his  next  step  is  God  and  His  manifestations 
or  expressions  are  all  there  is.  This  means  God  and  His 
Spiritual  Creation,  the  universe  and  systems  and  myriad 
of  systems  of  universes  and  all  within  them,  including 


Science  in  Action  281 

man,  *'the  crowning  glory  of  God.'*  His  next  step  is, 
' '  I,  man,  am  created  by  God,  in  His  image  and  likeness. ' ' 
So  reads  the  allegory  given  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis. 

This  is  the  Absolute  Truth  and  is  the  foundation  upon 
which  to  stand, — the  three  stones  in  one. 

The  great  Truths  concerning  the  Absolute  Truth  of 
that  which  Is  should  be  affirmed  until  the  mind  responds 
by  receiving  the  recognition  of  the  truthfulness  of  the 
affirmation ;  and  this  can  become  so  clear  that  it  is  Reali- 
zation ;  and  when  once  the  mind,  through  scientific  action, 
realizes  a  Truth,  it  remains  established  thereafter  in  con- 
sciousness. 

The  Spiritual  man  and  the  Spiritual  Universe  being 
Perfect,  this  should  be  affirmed  as  the  Absolute  or  foun- 
dation Truth  until  the  mind  comprehends  it  and  realizes 
it  to  be  true. 

What  about  carnality?  Where  is  it?  Nowhere.  It 
does  not  exist.  Here  is  where  the  man  who  is  not  fully 
awakened  Spiritually  will  exclaim,  **A  falsehood!  Be- 
cause I  see  birth  and  death  taking  place  all  around  me ; 
I  see  man  grow  from  childhood  to  youth,  from  youth  to 
manhood,  then  on  to  old  age;  it  is,  therefore,  folly  for 
one  to  say  there  is  no  carnality.  *  * 

Stop,  listen !  As  long  as  man  is  under  the  carnal  mind 
and  it  is  the  ruling  king,  its  subjects  believe  in  and  are 
subject  to  it;  and  a  Spiritually  awakened  one  of  olden 
time  has  said,  "As  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he.'* 
If  a  man  is  looking  through  a  blue  glass,  the  world  about 
him  will  appear  blue ;  if  red,  so  it  will  look. 

The  mind  is  the  mirror  and  the  body  of  man  expresses 
what  the  mirror  is ;  if  carnal  in  beliefs,  carnality  will  out- 
picture  in  his  body  and  his  environments ;  yes,  his  whole 
world;  but  when  the  mind  has  become  cleansed  of  the 
carnal  beliefs  by  the  Science  in  Action,  the  mind  will 
become  a  clear  tablet  for  the  finger  of  God  to  write  upon 
or  manifest  through. 

The  carnal  mind  is  the  adversary,  and  in  the  confusion 
in  this  mind  man  has  believed  there  is  a  distance  between 


282  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

man  and  God;  and  sometimes  it  seems  a  great  distance. 
This  is  only  a  carnal  illusion,  as  God  is  everywhere  pres- 
ent and  man  is  as  inseparable  from  God,  man^s  Creator, 
as  the  ray  is  from  the  sun. 

In  the  Science,  as  it  is  set  in  action,  man  learns  that 
carnality,  being  the  counterfeit,  is  the  shadow.  Now 
catch  this :  A  shadow  requires  no  place  or  space  to  abide 
in ;  the  shadows  seem  real,  but  man  knows  full  well  that 
the  sun  is  all-powerful  and  the  shadow  is  subject  to  it. 
So  God  is  all-powerful  and  carnality  is  subject  to  His 
power.    Man  is  an  expression  of  God. 

Man  can  close  his  mind  to  the  Scientific  Truth,  just  as 
he  can  close  the  shutter  to  his  window  and  thereby  ex- 
clude the  light  and  warmth  of  the  sun;  it  is  man^s 
prerogative. 

After  man  awakens  to  the  Truth  of  the  Scientific 
Action  of  God,  and  of  the  illusions  which  compose  car- 
nality, he  can  refuse  to  co-operate  scientifically  with  the 
Scientific  Action  of  God.  He  can  live  in  faith  and  walk 
bravely  upon  the  Christian's  path  and  have  love  and 
reverence  for  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Father.  This  is  good 
and  beautiful ;  and,  departing,  angels  welcome  him  into 
his  next  state  or  condition.  He  is  a  Christian,  but  not  a 
Scientific  Christian.  He  has  not  fulfilled  the  command 
of  Jesus  when  He  said,  ' '  Ye  shall  know  the  Truth, ' '  giv- 
ing promise  to  those  who  know  the  Truth  that ' '  the  Truth 
shall  make  you  free."  Now  note  the  science  here,  as  we 
are  not  writing  to  please  the  intellect, — the  world  is  filled 
with  books  where  fluent  language  flows  in  exquisite 
rhetoric. 

It  is  the  deep  Scientific  Truth  in  the  message  of  Jesus 
Christ  which  we  are  endeavoring  to  set  forth,  that  all 
who  so  desire  can  see  and  understand. 

Note  this :  * '  Science  is  Knowing ! ' '  Then,  to  scientific- 
ally know,  carnality  must  be  scientifically  removed  from 
the  mind.  This  is  accomplished  through  and  by  denials 
of  its  reality  and  affirmations  of  the  Reality  of  Being. 


Science  in  Action  283 

When  man  upon  the  Christ-Path  has  been  born  of  the 
Spirit  and  has  received  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
he  is  a  Christian  indeed;  and  when  he  adds  to  this  the 
Science  in  Action  to  cleanse  his  mind  of  the  carnal  illu- 
sions, he  then  becomes  a  *  *  Scientific  Christian.  * ' 

This  is  what  the  world  requires  at  this  time — "Scien- 
tific Christians."  Yes,  warriors  are  now  needed  to  be 
enabled  to  withstand  the  fiery  darts  of  the  adversary. 

Although  the  beliefs  and  confusions  in  carnality  are 
illusions  and  the  whole  Web  of  Carnality  a  shadow,  the 
darts  therefrom  seem  real  indeed  until  man  is  entirely 
freed  from  its  mesh. 

Jesus  Christ  lived  and  moved  among  mankind  and 
proved  His  God-given  mastership  over  every  law  of  car- 
nality, proving  to  mankind,  when  they  can  see  it,  that 
the  Eternal  Law  of  God,  manifesting  Truth,  is  all-power- 
ful and  reigns  supreme  over  every  law  of  carnality. 

Jesus  healed  the  sick,  fed  the  multitudes  and  raised  the 
dead.  Even  where  dissolution  had  taken  place  He  called 
to  the  Soul  and  it  returned  and  entered  the  Temple  of 
clay.  He  also  raised  those  who  were  dead  in  trespasses 
and  sin,  even  Mary  Magdalene,  *'out  of  whom  He  cast 
seven  devils."  Mary^s  was  such  a  deep  awakening  that 
she  turned  away  from  the  carnal  belief  of  life  and  its 
illusions  to  the  Living  God. 

Mary  sought  out  the  Master  and  learned  from  Him. 
She  desired  to  know.  Where  the  desire  is  strong,  one 
can  easily  learn  from  book  and  teacher.  Science  in  Ac- 
tion is  when,  like  Mary,  one  is  so  deeply  aroused  that 
one  desires  Truth  above  all  else.  We  find  Mary  at  the 
Master's  feet,  but  ''Martha  was  burdened  with  many 
cares. ' ' 

If  Martha  had  been  a ' '  Scientific  Christian, ' '  she  would 
have  set  the  Science  in  action  in  her  mind  by  denying 
the  reality  of  the  cares  and  burdens,  knowing  they  are 
only  in  the  carnal  mind  and  do  not  belong  in  the  Mind 
of  God,  and  affirming  that  she  was  an  individualized 
manifestation  of  God.     When  the  mind  is  cleansed  of 


284  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

cares,  burdens,  anxieties  and  fear,  there  is  room  for  Love, 
Harmony,  Peace,  Poise  and  Serenity  to  abide;  and,  if 
these  dwell  in  the  mind,  they  will  express  in  the  body 
and  environments. 

A  ''Scientific  Christian''  is  awake,  alert;  he  is  calm 
and  poised,  and  peace  and  serenity  abide  within  him.  He 
knows  if  he  keeps  his  mind  clear  of  false  beliefs,  fears 
and  doubts,  and  closes  the  door  of  his  mentality  against 
trifling  gossip,  criticism  or  desire  to  dominate,  ever  keep- 
ing his  mind  stayed  upon  God,  that  he  will  finally  touch 
consciously  the  scientific  action  of  God  with  such  strength 
that  he  will  realize  it,  when  he  will  abide  at-one  with  the 
Scientific  Action  of  God ;  and  remember  that  this  is  Con- 
scious Life  in  Action  forever  and  that  man  will  here  and 
now  realize  his  immortality. 

Man  will  continue  to  pass  out  from  this  plane  of  action 
through  the  door  called  death  as  long  as  he  is  ruled  by 
the  carnal  mind ;  but  when  he  is  fully  awake  and  scien- 
tifically keeping  his  mind  cleansed  of  the  illusions  which 
keep  man  bound  to  the  wheel  of  carnality,  he  will  per- 
ceive the  Truth  of  his  Being. 

Jesus  said  to  His  disciples,  "Follow  thou  me."  When 
Peter  questioned  Jesus  concerning  John,  if  he,  too,  would 
be  killed  for  preaching  the  Truth,  Jesus  said  to  Peter, 
**What  is  that  to  thee?  Follow  thou  me."  Man  is  to 
keep  his  mind  stayed  upon  God  and  in  scientific  action ; 
this  is  easy. 

The  heart  is  stayed  upon  God,  our  Father-Mother, 
through  Love  and  Devotion ;  and  when  science  in  action 
in  the  mind  of  man  is  coupled  with  these  man  will  be- 
come freed  from  the  illusion.  Birth  and  death  are  among 
the  shadows. 

It  is  one  thing  to  perceive  this  great  Truth  intellect- 
ually, but  quite  another,  indeed,  to  solve  the  mystery  of 
the  carnal  illusion  and  gain  an  understanding  of  the  sci- 
entific aspect  of  God,  in  and  through  His  Law  of  Eternal 
Action,  which  will  enable  man  to  place  himself  in  rhythm 


Science  in  Action  285 

with  the  Being  which  is  and  Who  is  the  beginning  and 
end  of  all,  **The  center  and  circumference/'  the  All 
in  All! 

Let  the  reader,  if  he  desires  a  scientific  understanding 
of  the  Infinite,  turn  his  mind  within  and  endeavor  to 
realize  his  Real  Self, — that  being  whom  God  created  in 
* '  His  image  and  likeness. '  * 

When  the  carnal  mind  is  poised  in  silent  serenity,  then 
from  this  center  within  let  the  mind  expand  until  it 
becomes  a  Cosmic-consciousness  and  perceives  the  Infinite 
Who  is  Life,  Love,  Peace,  Power,  Light  and  the  Har- 
mony which  is  everywhere, — one  unbroken,  indivisible 
Presence ;  then  you  will  see  yourself  as  one  manifestation 
of  this  Infinite.  You  are  of  it,  you  are  in  it,  and  there 
is  no  place  else  for  you  to  go.  You  cannot  change  your- 
self, neither  move  out  of  nor  away  from  this  Presence. 
Ever  keep  your  mind  stayed  upon  this  scientific  Truth 
which  is  being  portrayed.  You  are  literally  * '  living,  mov- 
ing and  having  your  Being  in  it."  This  would  be  an 
appalling  situation  if  this  Presence  were  carnality  and 
the  illusions  which  man  expresses  in  the  carnal  life ;  but, 
lo  and  behold!  it  is  the  Presence  of  "The  Living  God 
Almighty."  When  man  sees  that  he  is  perfect,  that  his 
Real  Self  has  always  been  so  and  that  he  is  right  here 
and  now  in  the  very  center  of  the  Living,  Loving  God, 
and  that  God  hath  done  it  all  and  that  it  is  finished  and 
that  the  Creator  announced  it  good,  and  very  good,  man 
truly  then  can  perceive  what  it  means,  and  that  it  is  just 
"To  Be." 

Well !  How  is  it  ?  Just  keep  your  mind  stayed  upon 
God  and  the  Scientific  aspect  of  His  Scientific  Action; 
keep  poised  and  steadfast,  and  we  will  carry  you  a  little 
farther.  Here  is  the  place  where  you  scientifically  sit 
down  by  the  side  of  the  "River  of  Life"  and  drink  of 
the  life-giving  water  which  quickens  you  through  and 
through.  Here  you  understandingly  sit  in  the  shade  of 
the  Tree  of  Life  whose  leaves  are  for  the  healing  of  the 
nations. 


286  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

God  is  the  Tree  of  Life.  The  shade  is  His  refreshing 
care  and  blessing.  The  river  is  the  Scientific  Action  of 
Conscious  Life.  You  are  the  highest  manifestation  of 
God  upon  this  plane.  You  are  man,  "God^s  crowning 
glory."  Then  surely  it  is  clearly  seen  that  man  has 
nothing  to  do  but  ''To  Be."  There  is  no  becoming,  no 
growth,  no  journey;  it  is  all  done;  *'it  is  finished";  it  is 
complete ;  and  Infinite  Intelligence  has  announced  that  it 
is  good, — yea,  God  said  that  it  is  very  good,  truly  good. 

There  is  nothing  for  man  to  do  after  he  has  become 
conscious  of  his  at-one-ment  with  the  Eternal  God,  but 
just  "To  Be."  Sit  still  in  conscious  understanding  and 
**BE !"    Just  be  that  which  God  knows  you  are. 

Here,  where  you  come  into  this  Scientific  Illumination, 
is  the  place  where  you  are  to  express  it.  Remember  that 
if  God  had  remained  unmanifest  there  would  be  no 
creation. 

When  the  heart  is  attuned  to  the  Harp  of  many  strings, 
which  is  the  Heart  of  the  Infinite,  and  the  mind  is  scien- 
tifically adjusted  and  at-one  with  the  Mind  of  God,  man 
is  anchored  sure  and  steadfast  to  the  foundation  rock, 
which  is  the  Rock  of  Ages,  the  Absolute  Truth. 

When  man  has  returned  to  God  scientifically,  the  free- 
will— ^which  is  the  carnal  mind  (the  adversary) — will 
have  been  in  his  consciousness  reduced  to  nothing  and  the 
dross  consumed  by  Wisdom,  Love  and  Understanding. 

* '  God  is  a  consuming  fire, ' '  and  in  the  Scientific  Action 
of  God  no  impurities  can  abide. 

It  is  important  that  the  awakened  man  gains  under- 
standing and  sets  in  motion  within  himself  the  Science 
of  Action. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  SCIENCE  IN  ACTION. 

THERE  is  a  mystery  connected  with  blood  which 
man  has  not  fully  penetrated,  and  there  is  a  mys- 
tery in  the  Science  in  Action. 

When  an  undesirable  report  is  brought  to  you,  you  at 
once  feel  the  effect  of  it.  It  saddens  or  brightens,  as  the 
case  may  be.  You  respond  according  to  the  knowledge 
conveyed  in  the  message. 

What  is  the  cause  of  the  different  feelings  experienced 
by  the  one  who  receives  the  report  ?  There  certainly  is  a 
mystery  connected  with  it.  The  message  was  the  direct 
cause  of  either  the  grief  or  joy  which  it  conveyed,  but 
where  was  the  indirect  cause  ?  In  the  carnal  mind.  The 
carnal  mind  does  not  remain  poised,  because  it  is  like  the 
surface  of  the  sea,  easily  affected  by  every  passing  breeze. 
The  depth  of  the  ocean  is  not  shaken,  changed  nor  dis- 
turbed by  the  passing  winds,  storms,  or  the  vessels  which 
move  over  the  surface ;  but  where  is  the  place,  the  divid- 
ing line,  where  the  changeableness  and  unstability  of  the 
ocean's  surface  and  the  calm  serenity  and  stability  of  its 
depths  takes  place  ?  That  place  is  where  the  disturbances 
of  the  surface  reach  down  and  merge  into  the  serenity 
and  stability  of  the  depth ;  where  they  are  consumed  by 
the  great  calm  and  deep  stillness  which  abide  down  in  the 
deep.  There  is  in  reality  no  mystery  there,  because  the 
surface  and  confusions  are  the  opposite  of  the  depth, 
which  lies  far  down  in  the  silence  of  Being,  where  neither 
the  carnal  law  nor  man  can  reach  to  control  or  disturb. 

If  man  is  satisfied  with  the  surface  of  the  ocean,  he  will 

287 


288  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

prepare  to  withstand  the  storms  and  disturbances  as  long 
as  he  can,  knowing  full  well  that  he  will  eventually  be- 
come overwhelmed  by  them;  but  should  he  desire  calm, 
peace  and  serenity,  he  will  go  deep  and  abide  there  in 
the  holy  quietness.  Where  is  the  mystery  here  ?  It  is  in 
man's  mind,  where  he  grew  tired  of  the  turmoil  and 
unstability  of  the  surface  and  desired  to  go  into  the  deeps 
of  Truth  and  to  cast  anchor  in  the  deep,  where  he  may 
abide  sure  and  steadfast. 

That  change  in  the  mind  is  so  intangible  that  it  cannot 
be  here  analyzed,  although  it  is  a  definite  thing;  just  as 
the  change  in  the  physical  body,  although  so  perceptible 
when  the  healing  takes  place  from  the  scientific  changing 
of  the  mind,  which  is  so  mysterious  and  so  vital  that  we 
cannot  by  the  pen  bring  it  to  a  clear  comprehension  of 
the  one  who  has  never  felt  this  healing  mystery  take  place 
within  his  body ;  and  those  who  have  felt  this  indescrib- 
able something  touch  them  with  an  electrical  power  and 
have  been  healed  of  disease  called  malignant  or  incurable 
by  the  physicians, — even  these  find  not  words  to  express 
it,  and  * '  Wonderful ! "  is  usually  the  expression  of  those 
who  are  thus  blessed. 

God  understands  the  mystery  of  the  result  which  takes 
place  from  the  Science  in  Action  in  man's  body,  mind 
and  environments,  when  there  is  a  scientific  demonstra- 
tion brought  into  expression  by  the  mind  of  man  becom- 
ing en  rapport  with  the  Mind  of  God. 

As  one  watches  the  forming  of  the  dark  clouds  which 
burst  forth  in  wind  and  lightning,  and  listens  to  the  roar 
of  the  thunder,  he  then  sees  that  there  is  a  wonderful 
mystery  in  this  forming  and  movements  of  the  clouds; 
but  it  is  not  visible.  If  one  desires  to  understand  the 
mystery,  which  is  the  invisible  Presence  that  is  behind 
the  clouds,  he  must  get  behind  the  surface,  the  appear- 
ance, and  then  he  will  be  as  a  Spiritual  Warrior  was  cen- 
turies ago,  who  exclaimed,  ' '  God  is  not  in  the  whirlwind, 
but  in  the  still,  small  voice!"    Is  this  a  mystery?    Yes, 


The  Mystery  op  the  Science  in  Action      289 

to  the  carnal  mind  it  truly  is;  but  to  the  Spiritually 
Awakened  and  Illumined  it  is  not  so,  because  he  sees  the 
two  expressions  at  the  same  time,  the  storm  sweeping 
over  the  earth's  surface  and  behind  it  the  Still  Calmness 
of  the  ''I  Am  that  I  Am,"  and  hears  the  ** still  small 
voice"  through  the  silence  above  the  roar  of  the  storm 
and  the  thunder's  rumblings. 

Where  is  the  mystery?  In  the  carnal  mind  of  man. 
There  is  none  in  the  Spiritually  illumined  man's  mind. 
What  causes  the  difference  in  the  degree  of  perception  in 
the  minds  of  the  two?  Science  in  Action  in  the  under- 
standing and  the  mind  of  man,  which  has  been  cleansed 
of  the  cobweb  of  illusions  which  form  carnalilty.  Then, 
the  mind  being  clear,  it,  with  the  Eye  of  Vision,  sees 
clearly  that  the  storm  is  only  a  vapory  mist  which  is 
expressing  in  fury.  The  mist  is  so  thin  to  the  man  who 
has  vision  that  he  sees  through  it  into  the  Eternal  Per- 
fection which  exists  just  back  of  the  raging  storm ;  and 
it  is  from  out  the  vastness  of  that  perfection  that  he  hears 
the  ** Still  Small  Voice."  If  this  man's  vision  is  strong 
and  clear  enough  and  he  so  desires,  he  can  vision  the 
storm  into  its  native  place,  which  is  nowhere,  as  it  is 
no-thing.  Why  do  we  say  that  the  storm  is  no-thing, 
even  when  it  has  left  destruction  in  its  path  over  the 
earth's  surface?  Because  it  does  not  belong  in  God's 
Creation.  It  would  be  impossible  for  the  destructive 
storm  to  abound  in  God's  Creation,  which  is  perfect  har- 
mony and  peace,  where  Love  and  contentment  abound; 
and  nothing  opposite  to  these  can  enter  into  that  perfec- 
tion of  God,  where  His  expressions  are  Perfect,  Harmo- 
nious and  Beautiful. 

Through  scientifically  understanding  the  Law  of  God, 
which  is  God  in  Scientific  Action,  and  through  under- 
standing man's  carnal  mind  and  how  to  scientifically 
subdue  it,  man  can  thus  through  the  Science  of  Action, 
through  knowledge  and  with  a  desire  for  good,  cause 
the  storm  to  merge  into  the  calm  and  become  lost  in  the 
bright  sunlight.    Where  is  the  mystery  here  ?    It  abides 


290  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

in  the  curtain  which  hangs  between  the  carnal  concept 
and  the  divine  reality ;  since  there  is  no  mystery  on  the 
other  side  of  the  curtain,  because  there  it  is  bright  sun- 
light in  which  all  see  clearly.  It  is  illusion  which  causes 
mystery.  There  is  no  mystery  in  the  Scientific  Action  of 
God  in  Law  and  Conscious  Life ;  neither  is  there  mystery 
in  the  Science  in  Action  in  the  mind  of  man,  when  the 
mind  is  Illumined  into  understanding. 

There  is  an  old  adage,  "Knowledge  is  power,**  and 
true  it  is.  We  read  in  the  Sacred  Bible,  *  *  The  prayers  of 
the  righteous  availeth  much.*'  Then  righteous  knowl- 
edge is  a  desired  thing,  or  the  *'one  thing  needful.** 
Jesus  Christ  said,  ''Seek  first  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven 
and  its  righteousness,  and  all  things  shall  be  added  unto 
you.** 

Jesus,  through  understanding,  set  the  Scientific  Law 
of  God  in  Action  and  fed  the  multitudes,  and  the  carnal 
man  exclaimed,  * '  A  miracle  has  been  performed !  * ' 

Jesus  did  this  unselfishly.  It  was  for  others.  His  broth- 
ers, who  were  still  lost  in  the  illusive  dream  of  carnality 
and  were  hungry ;  for  others  that  He  spoke  the  Law  into 
action  which  caused  the  loaves  and  fishes  to  multiply  so 
that  the  people  were  fed.  Where  is  the  mystery  ?  In  the 
fact  that  Jesus*  word,  when  spoken  scientifically,  set  the 
Scientific  Law  of  God  into  manifesting  in  the  loaves  and 
fishes,  which  He  at  that  time  desired. 

When  He  sat  by  the  well  while  His  disciples  went  into 
the  village  to  buy  meat  (note  this  point,  which  is  vital, 
indeed,  in  gaining  an  understanding  of  the  science  which 
Jesus  taught),  Jesus  Christ  did  not  go  to  buy  meat. 
*'He  had  meat  to  eat  that  they  (His  disciples)  knew  not 
of. '  *  He  was  free  from  carnal  illusion  and,  by  knowing 
His  At-one-ness  with  His  Father,  has  Spiritual  food 
to  eat. 

As  Jesus  sat  by  the  well  a  woman  came  to  draw  water. 
Jesus  told  her  that  if  she  would  drink  of  the  water  He 
would  give  she  would  not  thirst  again.  Through  scien- 
tifically reading  her  mind  He  also  told  her,  as  she  said, 


The  Mystery  of  the  Science  in  Action      291 

"all  things  she  ever  did.'*  She  then  asked,  '*Is  not  this 
the  Christ?"  Jesus'  mind  was  scientifically  clean  and 
He  knew  that  His  individualized  mind  was  at-one  with 
the  God-Mind.  This  mind  is  the  Christ-mind,  which  man 
has  when  he  is  living  in  the  Christ-consciousness.  Where 
is  the  mystery  between  the  mind  of  Jesus  Christ,  Who 
knew  He  had  meat  to  eat  without  going  to  the  village  for 
it,  and  the  mind  in  His  disciples,  and  between  the  mind 
of  Jesus,  where  He  knew  all  things  the  woman  had  ever 
done,  and  the  mind  of  the  woman  who  was  so  astonished 
that  He  could  thus  read  her  mind  ? 

The  mystery  lies  at  the  place  where  the  disciples  dis- 
cerned that  Jesus  could  be  thus  sustained;  they  there 
perceiving  that  a  gulf  was  between  their  understanding 
and  His.  The  mystery  was  in  their  mind,  not  in  His. 
The  mystery  was  in  the  mind  of  the  woman,  when  she 
perceived  He  could  read  her  mind.  There  was  no  mys- 
tery in  the  mind  of  Jesus,  because  He  knew  the  Truth, 
and  to  Him  there  was  no  veil  between  His  mind  and  the 
carnal,  because  His  Vision  was  so  clear  that  He  saw 
through  carnality. 

When  Jesus  sat  on  the  mountainside  and  looked  down 
over  Jerusalem,  He,  with  this  same  vision  which  was  man- 
ifesting in  Him,  read  the  actions  of  those  living  in  Jeru- 
salem. He  saw  how  heavy  were  the  carnal  illusions 
which  enveloped  them,  and  He  knew  how  long  and  rough 
the  path  over  which  they  each  must  travel  ere  they  pierce 
the  veil  of  illusions.  This  picture  touched  His  tender 
heart  and  He  exclaimed,  ' '  Jerusalem !  Jerusalem !  How 
oft  would  I  have  gathered  you  as  a  hen  gathers  her  brood, 
but  ye  would  not.''  Where  is  the  mystery  here?  In 
this,  that  they  themselves  must  awaken  and  move  for- 
ward and  extricate  themselves  from  the  thraldom  of  car- 
nality. Jesus  Christ,  though  so  pure  and  holy  and 
endued  with  such  power  'Hhat  He  healed  all  manner  of 
diseases  and  raised  the  dead,"  could  not  free  them,  be- 
cause they  were  under  the  law  of  Cause  and  Effect  and 
"must  pay  even  unto  the  very  last  farthing." 


292  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

What  frees  man  from  the  law  of  Cause  and  Effect? 
Understanding  of  the  Truth;  and  that  he  may  see  it  is 
necessary  for  man  to  scientifically  understand  the  scien- 
tific aspect  of  God,  Truth,  which  is  God  in  action  in  and 
through  the  universe  and  man.  When  man  knows  the 
Truth,  his  mind  is  Light,  his  body  is  Light,  his  Soul  is 
Light,  his  Spirit  is  Light;  yea,  there  is  no  darkness  in 
him.  He  has,  through  learning  the  great  Truth  which 
Jesus  portrayed  in  His  message,  and  applying  the  scien- 
tific aspect  of  it  to  His  mind,  become  a  conscious  mani- 
festation of  the  Eternal  Light,  which  is  God,  and  that  he 
is  that  "Light  which  lighteth  every  man  who  cometh  into 
the  world.'* 

The  practical  application  of  the  scientific  Truth,  or  the 
Science  in  Action,  is  this:  When  a  man  awakens  and 
discerns  that  there  is  a  Scientific  Truth,  he  endeavors  to 
use  it,  that  he  may  become  free  from  the  carnal  man's 
fears,  doubts,  ills  and  limitations.  First,  when  sickness 
presents  itself  to  his  mind  for  recognition  and  reports 
sick  headache,  or  any  other  illness,  he  denies  its  reality ; 
denies  its  power ;  denies,  until  he  can  place  it  where  Jesus 
placed  the  Tempter, — ^behind  him.  Then  the  hurt  of  you 
would  be  healed.  Say  positively  to  the  illusion,  **Get 
thee  behind  me,"  and  then  affirm  to  the  mind,  *'I  am 
the  image  and  likeness  of  God;''  I  live,  move  and  have 
my  being  in  God;"  ''I  am  hid  with  Christ  in  God;" 
*  *  God  covers  me  with  His  feathers,  and  under  His  wing 
do  I  trust. ' '  Then  repeat  the  promise  which  the  Infinite 
gave  through  the  pen  of  King  David,  **He  that  dwelleth 
in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High  shall  abide  under 
the  shadow  of  the  Almighty;"  **The  Lord,  He  is  my 
refuge  and  my  fortress,  my  God;  in  Him  will  I  trust." — 
Psalm  91.  Then  ask  the  Father  to  cause  these  truths  to 
become  manifest  to  you, — ask  in  and  through  the  name 
of  Jesus  Christ. 

Why  is  man  to  ask  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  ?  Be- 
cause Jehovah  has  promised  that  the  answer  will  take 
place  when  asked  in  that  name.    A  mystery  lies  hidden 


The  Mystery  of  the  Science  m  Action      293 

deep  here,  where  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  causes  the 
answer  to  become  manifest.  No  mystery  to  the  Spirit- 
ually awakened,  only  to  those  who  are  not  entirely  free 
from  the  curtain  which  hangs  between  the  carnal  concept 
and  the  Christ  understanding. 

In  the  Scientific  Action  which  is  God,  there  is  power ; 
and  this  God-power  in  action  is  where  the  results  proceed 
from,  and  here  is  where  the  mystery  abides  to  the  one 
who  has  not  vision. 

Truth,  God,  is  the  Eternal  One ;  and  it  casts  no  shadow, 
but  as  the  curtain  of  night  is  draped  aside  and  the  sun- 
light appears  and  annihilates  the  night,  just  so  Truth, 
God,  when  the  veil  of  carnalilty  is  rent  in  twain  in  the 
mind  of  man,  will  consume  from  the  mind  the  darkness 
which  the  illusions  of  carnality  have  caused. 

What  causes  the  night  to  take  place  upon  the  earth? 
The  movements  of  the  earth.  The  sun  does  not  change, 
neither  moves  perceptibly.  What  causes  the  different 
seasons  upon  the  earth?  The  adjustment  of  the  earth 
into  its  different  positions  as  it  revolves  around  the  sun. 
The  sun  stands  still;  the  earth  revolves  around  it.  The 
sun  stands  as  a  symbol  of  God,  the  Eternal,  immovable, 
yet  Ever-Present  One.  The  earth  in  its  rotation  around 
the  sun  symbolizes  carnality,  which  is  ever  moving  and 
ever  changing.  It  is  as  shifting  sand,  shadows  and  illu- 
sions, which  compose  carnality.  This  is  the  plane  man 
enters  when  he  loses  his  equilibrium  in  Paradise;  and 
man  will  become  emancipated  from  its  enmeshments  of 
illusions  when  he  awakens  and  learns  that  God  is  Scien- 
tific Action  and  everywhere  present,  and  that  there  is  a 
Scientific  Law  which  man  can  learn  and,  through  under- 
standing, place  in  operation  in  his  mentality,  which  oper- 
ation will  scientifically  cleanse  his  mind  and  let  the  One 
Mind,  which  is  God-Mind,  become  manifest  in  and 
through  his  mentality. 

This  is  the  work  of  the  individual.  Man's  work,  when 
awakened  from  the  illusive  dream  of  carnality,  is  to  keep 
at  his  problem  until  his  mind  is  so  clear  and  clean  that  he 


294  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

knows  God  as  He  is  in  Reality,  and  not  according  to  his 
ideal  of  God,  which  ideal  is  formed  by  the  carnal  mind. 
Man's  work  is  with  himself.  Infinite  Love,  Wisdom, 
Power  and  Intelligence,  which  is  Aum,  the  impersonal 
God,  and  Jehovah  and  Jesus  Christ  will  see  after  the 
world  and  all  therein.  All  will  be  wrought  out  in  God's 
plan,  but  man  knows  not  of  all  this  until  he  awakens. 
This  awakening  must  come  in  the  mind  as  well  as  in  the 
Spiritual  nature  of  man.  Remember,  man  is  four-fold  in 
his  composition, — Body,  Mind,  Soul,  Spirit.  Jesus  said, 
speaking  to  the  individual,  *'Ye  shall  know  the  Truth." 
Man  knows  in  and  through  the  mind. 

It  is  easy  to  be  seen  that  there  necessarily  needs  to  be 
something  done  in  the  mind  of  the  individual  when  he 
awakens  with  his  mind  filled  with  the  beliefs  of  carnality, 
which  beliefs  are  entirely  opposite  to  the  Truth.  This  is 
man's  own  work.  Man  himself  must,  through  Science  in 
Action,  by  denials  of  their  reality,  eliminate  the  carnal 
concept  from  his  mind;  then,  through  affirmation  of 
God's  great  Truth,  cause  his  mind  to  again  become  en 
rapport  with  the  Infinite.  This  is  man's  work,  and  no 
amount  of  prayer  to  God  to  do  this  will  bring  a  response, 
because  it  is  asking  amiss.  St.  James  said,  ''Your  prayers 
are  not  answered  because  you  ask  amiss." 

Man,  through  his  power  of  choice,  through  his  free- 
will, permitted  the  illusions  to  form  and  gather  in  his 
mind.  Man's  mind,  also,  reflects  the  beliefs  of  carnality, 
which  is  the  web.  If  man  caused,  through  his  looking 
away  from  his  center  and  losing  his  equilibrium,  these 
thoughts  and  their  results  to  become  manifest  in  his  mind, 
until  it  was  so  darkened  that  he  lost  his  way,  we  ask  the 
reasoning  one,  "Is  it  not  reasonable  to  believe  that  man, 
himself,  must  cleanse  his  mind  from  the  whole  web,  that 
God  may  again  manifest  perfectly  through  his  mind,  in 
every  department  of  it?"  Well,  thus  it  is;  and  man's 
belief  or  disbelief  has  no  power  to  affect  or  change  it ;  for 
man,  having  lost  his  way,  must  find  it  again  in  order  to 
reach  his  destination. 


The  Mystery  of  the  Science  in  Action      295 

True  it  is  that  man  will  finish  this  journey  upon  which 
he  started  when  he  stepped  into  the  Garden  of  Eden. 
Man,  being  in  the  Eternal  Action,  which  is  the  Living 
God,  cannot  forever  remain  away  from  Home, — ^his  lost 
inheritance.  This  is  a  mental  concept  and  the  work  is 
not  accomplished  until  man  has  scientifically  turned  to 
God,  in  and  through  understanding,  as  well  as  through 
Repentance  and  Faith  in  Spirit. 

When  man  has  finally  returned  to  the  Father's  House 
his  mind  will  be  clean  as  well  as  his  spirit. 

Man  being  a  four-fold  nature,  he,  when  finally  re- 
deemed, necessarily  must  be  redeemed  in  his  whole  being, 
which  is  Body,  Mind,  Soul  and  Spirit ;  and  when  this  is 
accomplished  he  has  learned  to  set  the  Science  in  Action 
within  his  own  mentality  and  become  at-one  with  the 
Eternal  Law  of  Scientific  Action.  When  this  is  under- 
standingly  and  reverently  accomplished  man  is  Redeemed 
and  conscious  of  his  Perfection.  He  then  is  a  *  *  Conscious 
Son  of  the  Living  God.''  No  more  does  he  go  about 
* '  seeking  rest  and  finding  none, ' '  but  he,  in  conscious  un- 
derstanding, sits  beside  the  River  of  Life  in  the  shade  of 
the  Tree  of  Life.  He  is  conscious  of  the  Omnipresent 
God  and  his  at-one-ment  therewith.  Man,  then,  is  **At 
Home, ' '  scientifically,  and  all  mystery  is  solved.  He  has 
learned  the  ''Truth,  and  the  Truth  has  made  him  free." 


CHAPTER  XX 
BEING   IN   SCIENCE. 

THERE  is  a  science  in  Being.  There  is  a  Being  in 
Science;  and  there  is  a  Scientific  Being  which  is 
inclusive  of  the  whole. 

Conscious  Being  in  Science  is  a  state  greatly  to  be 
desired  by  the  one  who  has  awakened  to  the  scientific 
action  in  God,  who  is  in  and  through  the  scientific  action 
of  Law. 

When,  through  and  by  denials,  man  has  cleansed  his 
mind  of  the  illusions  of  the  carnal  mind  and  affirmed  the 
Truth  concerning  God,  His  universe  and  Man,  until  the 
Realization  of  the  Truth  of  Being  becomes  a  reality  to 
him,  he  will  consciously  stand  in  the  Scientific  Law  of 
Action.  If  man  so  desires  and  continues  to  persevere,  he 
will  come  into  an  understanding  of  his  Being  in  Science. 

When  man  is  conscious  of  his  Being  in  Science  and  has 
the  understanding  which  will  enable  him  to  live  in  that 
state  of  consciousness,  he  will  thoroughly  understand  the 
Science  of  Being  and  live  scientifically. 

What  is  meant  by  living  scientifically  ?  To  live  scien- 
tifically, man  keeps  his  mind  clean  and  clear  of  all  the 
beliefs  and  thoughts  which  are  carnal;  and  by  keeping 
his  mind  stayed  upon  God,  the  One  Mind,  man  becomes 
in  accord  therewith,  and  when  thus  attuned  by  and 
through  the  Science  of  Mind  he  is  in  the  Scientific  Law 
of  Action,  and  that  Law  has  its  action  in  and  through 
him.    He  then  is  conscious  of  * '  Being  in  Science. ' ' 

What  are  the  results  of  conscious  Being  in  Science  ? 

First:   Abiding  Peace, — that  Peace  which  passeth  the 

296 


Being  in  Science  297 

understanding  of  the  carnal  man, — the  man  who  is  still 
ruled  by  the  carnal  concept. 

Second :  Harmony, — that  Harmony  which  causes  him 
to  hear  and  respond  to  the  music  of  the  Spheres.  When 
his  whole  Being  is  silently  blended  into  one  instrument 
perfectly  attuned,  his  body,  mind.  Soul  and  Spirit  are 
one  harmonious  instrument. 

Third:  Love, — that  Love  which  is  so  broad  and  deep 
that  it  includes  God  (from  His  center  here  to  the  circum- 
ference and  back  to  the  center  again),  and  all  the  expres- 
sions of  God. 

Fourth :  Purity, — that  is  so  pure  that  the  mind  is  ever 
stayed  in  purity, — whiteness  as  of  the  very  shining  Soul 
of  all  whiteness. 

Fifth :  Righteousness, — so  vital  that  carnality  has  no 
power  to  even  touch  the  hem  of  its  garment  to  soil  it. 

Sixth:  Illumination, — so  bright  and  clear  that  man 
can  see  through  the  deceptions  of  the  carnal  mind  in  any 
guise  in  which  it  may  present  itself,  and  so  clear  and 
sweet  that  it  reveals  the  tender  Love,  Mercy  and  Care  of 
the  Heavenly  Father,  Who  is  ever  near, — ^yea,  so  near 
that  there  is  oneness  with  the  Spiritually  and  Intellect- 
ually Illumined  one. 

Seventh :  Consciousness  of  his  Being  in  Science.  When 
man  is  Being,  through  and  through,  he  is  in  scientific 
action,  and  is  then  conscious  of  the  dominion  with  which 
God  endued  man  at  his  creation.  It  is  the  Real  Man 
whom  God  so  endued,  and  when  man  is  awakened  the 
Real  Man  will  gradually  come  into  control,  and  when 
man  becomes  conscious  of  his  Being  in  Science  he  lives  in 
the  Real  of  himself,  the  carnal  mind  becoming  gradually 
absorbed  by  the  Mind  of  God,  which  acts  in  and  through 
the  Real  Self  of  man. 

When  man  lives  consciously  in  the  Science  of  Being,  he 
continually  speaks  from  the  center  of  his  Being.  He  no 
longer  prattles  of  the  things  of  the  earth  which  are 


298  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

earthy,  because  he  has  his  mind  stayed  upon  things 
Eternal. 

In  the  Eternality  of  God  there  are  no  fleeting  things ; 
all  is  stability,  serenity  and  Love,  Man,  living  in  the 
conscious  recognition  of  his  Scientific  Being,  should  a 
cloud  appear  upon  the  horizon  which  announces  sickness, 
old  age,  death,  poverty  and  inharmony,  begins  at  once 
to  scientifically  reduce  it  to  its  rightful  place,  which  is  no- 
where, for  the  plain  and  simple  reason  that  it  is  no-thing. 
Those  things  are  a  no-thing  (being  a  negation)  to  the 
mind,  which,  through  conscious  recognition  of  the  Sci- 
ence of  God,  visions  the  reality  of  God,  the  ''All  in  All.'^ 

Science  in  Being  is  God  in  action.  '  *  Science  is  Know- 
ing.*' Action  and  Being  is  God.  Man  is  ''God's  image 
and  likeness,"  therefore  man  also  is  Being.  To  Be,  man 
must  necessarily  express  God,  for  there  is  none  else  to 
express. 

In  the  carnal  state  man  is  so  overcome  by  the 
illusive  appearances,  as  he  sees  them  in  carnality,  that  he 
is  stupefied  into  a  sleep.  Even  then  he  expresses  God, 
though  feebly  indeed  may  be  the  expression ;  but,  if  there 
were  not  the  Real  of  Man  there  behind  the  mask  and  the 
Real  expressing  God,  there  would  be  no  mask ;  therefore, 
even  though  the  physical  mask  of  man  is  imperfect,  de- 
formed or  diseased,  yet  as  long  as  it  expresses  Life  it  is 
expressing  God,  because  there  is  only  one  Life  and  that 
is  God-life.  God  is  "nearer  than  hands  and  feet,"  for 
true  it  is  that  God  is  man's  very  Life. 

When  the  physical  mask  falls  away  from  the  Real  Self 
of  Man,  as  it  does  time  and  again  as  the  man  moves  for- 
ward over  the  path  which  winds  its  way  through  car- 
nality, man  is  not  disturbed ;  it  is  only  as  when  the  trees 
in  the  forest  are  shedding  their  garment  of  leaves,  the 
tree  is  not  disturbed,  and  after  a  resting  time  the  tree 
puts  forth  leaves  again  and  clothes  itself  in  a  beautiful 
mantle,  soft,  delicate  and  green,  and  as  the  season  ad- 
vances and  the  summer  rays  of  the  sun  enfold  the  tree 
the  leaves  grow  thick,  firm  and  of  a  darker  hue  and,  with 


Being  in  Science  299 

the  frosts  which  announce  the  approach  of  winter,  the 
leaves  are  touched  and  the  color  changes  into  the  beauti- 
ful autumn  tints;  then  they  fall  and  dissolve  into  the 
earth.  Thus  man's  bodies  are  touched  by  the  years  as 
they  come  and  go.  At  first  we  see  the  Soul  clothed  in  an 
infant-form ;  then,  as  the  seasons  pass,  it  grows  into  child- 
hood, manhood  and  on  to  old  age,  when  the  winter  comes 
and  it  falls  to  the  ground  and  is  absorbed, — **  Earth  to 
earth  and  dust  to  dust."  This  is  the  play  of  the  carnal 
illusion  as  it  holds  the  Real  man  in  its  embrace. 

The  individuality  which  God  created  in  His  image  and 
likeness  does  not  partake  of  the  physical  and  mental  per- 
sonality of  man,  even  though  there  seems  to  be  no  divid- 
ing line  between  them.  Here  is  where  it  requires  wisdom 
and  understanding  to  bridge  the  gulf  which  seems  to 
exist  between  them. 

How  is  this  gulf  crossed  ?  By  using  the  scientific  Law 
of  God,  by  and  through  understanding,  which  has  been 
gained  through  study,  desire  and  persistency.  When 
through  the  power  of  the  Science  in  Action  man  annihi- 
lates the  concept  of  the  personal  self  and  recognizes  the 
Individuality,  which  is  the  Real  Self,  he  not  only  has 
crossed  the  gulf,  but  has  also  annihilated  it.  When  man 
is  Being  in  Science,  personality  with  its  loves,  cares,  fears 
and  doubts  has  been  absorbed  by  the  Truth,  which  is  a 
consuming  fire.  "God  is  a  consuming  fire"  and  the 
Individuality  stands  forth  from  this  fire  purged,  mani- 
festing the  gold  which  it  has  always  been.  When  in  con- 
sciousness man  stands  there  in  this  purification,  disease, 
death  and  old  age  have  disappeared,  because  these  belong 
to  the  carnal  concept  and  not  to  the  Illumined  man. 

The  Being  in  Science  is  a  Master.  He,  through  know- 
ing the  Science  of  God,  moves  out  and  through  carnality, 
but  he  is  a  law-abiding  citizen,  observing  the  law  which 
regulates  civilization  in  all  its  different  grades.  How- 
ever, he  continually  sees  clearly  between  the  Real  Law, 
which  is  God's  Law,  and  man's  law.  His  mind  is  ever 
stayed  upon  the  Eternal  Being  who  is. 


300  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

Being  in  science  is  filled  and  pulsating  with  the  Sci- 
ence in  Action  in  and  through  man,  who  lives  and  moves 
and  has  his  being  in  it,  and  is  therefore  thrilled  contin- 
ually with  Life,  while  Conscious  Life  becomes  manifest 
through  his  body  and  he  steps  forth  in  perception  of  the 
Law  of  Truth,  with  his  body  redeemed  from  the  law  of 
carnality. 

A  man  cannot  become  a  Being  in  Science  until  he  has 
scientifically  extricated  himself  from  the  false  beliefs 
which  fill  his  mind  and  out-picture  in  his  environments 
while  he  dwells  in  carnality,  for  a  man  cannot  be  in  two 
states  at  the  same  time.  If  man  is  scientific  he  is  poised, 
calm  and  serene,  because  the  mind  of  God  controls;  but 
when  the  carnal  mind  controls,  man  is  easily  confused,  is 
fearful  of  danger  at  all  times,  and  this  fear  makes  him 
negative  and  an  easy  prey  to  any  illusion  which  may  pre- 
sent itself  to  him.  The  man  who  has  scientific  knowledge 
and  the  wisdom  to  use  it  understandingly  and  righteously 
is  positive ;  he  is  conscious  of  his  scientific  power  and  of 
his  nearness,  yea,  oneness,  with  the  Living  God  Almighty, 
where  there  is  not  a  discordant  note  in  all  ''God's  Holy 
Mountain.*' 

In  Scientific  Bieing  man  has  contentment  and  satisfac- 
tion. He  has  no  desire  for  haste,  for  he  knows  that  he 
has  crossed  the  boundary  line  of  time  and  now  stands  in 
Eternity. 

Serene  and  peaceful  the  man  is  who  has  come  into  the 
understanding  of  Being  in  Science.  His  environments 
cannot  disturb  or  impress  him.  He  is  master  and  can  be 
as  conscious  of  peace,  contentment  and  serenity  in  a  hut 
in  the  outskirts  of  a  village  or  in  a  tent  in  the  forest  as  in 
a  palace  surrounded  with  the  luxury  of  the  land.  The 
man  who  is  illumined  as  to  his  own  being,  through  whom 
and  the  universe  the  Law  of  Scientific  Action  is  operat- 
ing, who  sees  that  the  Science  of  God  is  in  Action  in  and 
through  the  vastness  of  the  whole,  is  scientifically  illum- 
ined; and  this  Scientific  Illumination  can  bring  about 


Being  in  Science  301 

Spiritual  Illumination,  because  when  man  gets  thus  far 
in  union  with  the  Scientific  Action  of  God  he  desires  not 
to  turn  back,  but,  with  his  face  faithfully  turned  thither- 
ward, he  presses  onward  forever  and  forever. 

To  Be !  This  is  the  point ;  but  To  Be,  one  must  neces- 
sarily become  consciously  scientific.  In  the  Absoluteness 
as  it  forever  is,  man  is  Being ;  but,  while  he  is  under  the 
illusions  of  carnality,  he  has  lost  consciousness  of  it; 
therefore  to  return  in  conscious  understanding  and  illum- 
ination, man  learns  and  uses  the  Science  of  God  and 
through  this  scientific  effort  erases  all  false  beliefs  and 
pictures  from  his  mind,  and  the  mind  is  cleansed  through 
science  placed  in  operation  in  and  through  his  mentality. 
He  will  then  see  his  Being  as  it  has  always  been, — pure, 
high  and  joyous.  Thus  we  see  that  the  science  has  not 
touched  or  changed  the  Being  which  God  created,  but  it 
has  changed  the  mind,  the  mental  concept,  by  denying 
the  false  beliefs  which  compose  the  carnal  mind.  Bring- 
ing the  Ego  into  union  with  God  is  where  the  application 
is  necessary  to  bring  about  conscious  freedom.  It  is  then 
that  man  sees  himself  the  Being  in  Science,  or  the  Scien- 
tific Being  in  Action  in  God. 

Man  plants  a  field  of  corn,  when  Life,  acting  in  and 
through  the  earth,  the  air  and  the  rain,  moves  the  corn 
scientifically  until  the  kernel  of  corn  expands  and  sends 
green  shoots  through  the  ground  to  greet  the  sunlight. 
Life  expands  until  the  ear  of  corn  becomes  manifest, 
which  is  the  fruit  of  the  effort.  Then  Life  ceases  at  that 
time  to  further  expand ;  but  it  does  not  cease  from  action, 
because  Life  is  continuous  action. 

Life  is  Scientific  Conscious  Action,  and  ceases  not  from 
action,  whether  it  is  in  the  invisible  or  visible  domain. 
There  is  no  being  still  in  Life,  because  Life  is  Action.  In 
Scientific  Action  there  is  no  haste,  no  confusion,  no  calam- 
ities, because  Scientific  Action  is  knowing  action.  *' Sci- 
ence is  Knowing.  * ' 

A  continent  can  form  and  rise  in  the  great  ocean  with- 
out a  sound,  not  a  discordant  note,  and  move  into  expres- 


302  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

sion  in  scientific  action,  in  rhythm  and  harmony ;  and  in 
the  action  of  the  scientific  orderliness  of  Law,  and  those 
tiny  beings  which  are  to  inhabit  it  become  manifest  there. 

Each  and  all  are  in  their  place  and  move  at  the  right 
time  when  acting  in  the  Scientific  Law.  "When  man  steps 
aside  from  this  Law  he  is  out  of  rhythm  with  it  and, 
therefore,  he  does  not  receive  from  it  the  benefits  which 
are  intended  by  Infinite  Intelligence  that  he  should.  Man, 
through  Scientific  Action  in  his  own  mind,  keeps  himself 
in  tune  with  the  Eternal  Law  of  Scientific  Action. 

If  man  desires  wisdom  let  him  scientifically  place  his 
mind  in  conjunction  with  the  Infinite  Intelligence  and 
scientifically  request  wisdom,  and  wisdom  will  express  in 
the  mind  of  man. 

Man  can,  after  he  awakens  and  achieves  until  he 
reaches  illumination  and  becomes  Conscious  Being  in 
Science,  stand  forth  and  proclaim  the  Truth,  and  his 
words,  thus  scientifically  spoken,  will  bring  into  expres- 
sion the  Scientific  Law  of  Action ;  and,  as  man  scientific- 
ally desires  and  expresses,  so  the  results  will  be.  Man 
can  thus  see  that  he  is  then  the  formulator  of  his  own 
destiny  in  the  relative  life. 

When  man  is  awake,  and  when  the  highest  in  himself  is 
in  accord,  knowingly  and  understandingly,  he  truly  can 
see  the  responsibility  which  rests  with  him  until  he  learns 
to  place  it  in  the  hands  of  the  "All-seeing,  All-knowing 
and  All- wise  One, — our  Father-Mother-God.*'  This  is 
necessarily  done  by  starting  within  himself  the  science 
in  action  and  keeping  himself  continually  in  that  realiza- 
tion in  which  the  science  in  action  and  action  in  science, 
moving  through  him,  purify  and  make  true  man's  con- 
sciousness. 

Man,  being  a  four-fold  Being,  this  science  must  neces- 
sarily act  through  the  four-fold  nature,  which  is  his  body, 
mind,  soul  and  spirit. 

When  man  thoroughly  understands  the  Science  of  Be- 
ing and  how  to  place  himself  in  tune  therewith,  he  will 
extricate  himself  scientifically  from  the  illusion.     Then 


Beestg  in  Science  303 

he  will  stand  forth  a  Redeemed  Son  of  God,  and  may  be 
of  service  in  assisting  his  brothers  in  humanity  to  awake, 
arise  and  return  Home. 

Man's  desire,  then,  is  not  only  to  realize  his  Being  in 
Science,  but  to  assist  his  brothers  who  so  desire  to  become 
Beings  in  Science. 

The  grain  of  sand  has  nothing  to  do  but  to  be,  and  it 
fills  its  place  as  the  action  of  the  Scientific  Law  of  Action, 
in  the  tide,  carries  it. 

The  mountains  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  be  and  to 
express  that  which  the  scientific  Life,  which  is  action  in 
and  through  them,  desires.  The  ocean  just  simply  is; 
and  so  it  remains,  and  the  tide  ebbs  and  flows  through  it. 
It  makes  not  effort.  It  just  fills  its  place  and  lets  the 
tide  act  in  and  through  it,  and  ocean  water  remains  pure ; 
for  stagnation  cannot  abide  in  the  ceaseless  action  of  the 
water.  The  ocean  need  not  take  active  care  about  the 
impurities  which  may  be  cast  therein,  because  the  Eternal 
Action,  making  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tide,  causes  the 
impurities  to  become  pure. 

When  man  can,  as  the  ocean,  abide  in  his  place  and  let 
the  Scientific  Law  of  Action,  which  is  God  (and  this  is 
the  cause- of  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tide),  operate  in  and 
through  his  whole  Being,  he  then  will  have  no  care,  no 
anxiety ;  he  will  be  still  and  Be !  and  let  the  God-action 
act  scientifically  in  and  through  him.  Then  he  is  truly 
Being  in  Science. 

No  man  can  accomplish  this  without  study  and  daily 
application  of  the  rules,  as  no  man  can  learn  the  science 
of  mathematics  and  its  application  without  study. 

* '  Science  is  knowing, ' '  and  to  know  man  must  study ; 
and  when  he  has  learned  the  rules,  if  he  neglects  to  apply 
them,  he  is  no  better  off  than  the  one  who  knows  nothing 
of  them ;  just  as  the  musician  who  studies  music  and  un- 
derstands its  principles,  but  refuses  or  neglects  to  apply 
himself  to  bring  it  into  expression,  is  as  much  without 


304  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

harmonious  rhythm  as  the  man  who  knows  nothing  of 
the  principles  of  music. 

Then  Being  in  Science  is  being  in  action  and  expres- 
sion ;  this  brings  harmony,  peace,  love  and  contentment  to 
the  one  who  is  thus  living  in  conscious  action  in  Scientific 
Being.  He  knows  the  Science  of  Life ;  he  lives  it ;  he  acts 
it;  he  abides  in  it.  It  acts  and  abides  in  and  through 
him.  Therefore,  he  is  in  Scientific  Life.  He  sees  God  as 
the  Ever-present,  Omnipotent  and  Eternal  One,  the  First 
and  only  cause.  Man,  to  be  en  rapport  with  the  Being 
which  Is  and  was  and  will  forever  be,  must  be  awake, 
alert  and  act  intelligently  at  all  times.  Even  when  the 
carnal  man  sleeps,  this  Being  which  Is  ever  stands  guard, 
that  no  harm  can  befall  the  true  man,  asleep  or  awake. 

Being  in  Science,  or  Scientific  Life,  is  the  state  of  con- 
sciousness required  of  the  awakened  one  at  this  present 
time.  There  is  now  no  time  for  sleep  or  slumber  by  the 
awakened  ones,  as  they  should  stand  in  action,  clothed  in 
a  sheath  of  Scientific  Action,  a  Being  in  Science. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

SCIENTIFIC   KNOWLEDGE. 

THERE  is  knowledge  and  knowledge.  There  are  as 
many  different  phases  of  knowledge  as  there  are 
minds;  but  the  real  knowledge  is  scientific  knowl- 
edge. 

What  is  Scientific  Knowlwedge?  It  is  knowledge  of 
the  Absolute.  God  is  All-knowing,  All-Science.  Then 
knowing  is  scientific  knowledge.  This  knowledge  is  not 
gained  from  books  which  are  written  by  the  intellect  of 
man.  To  gain  this  knowledge  appears  as  foolishness  to 
the  unawakened  man ;  but  the  awakened  one,  even  at  the 
first  glimpse,  perceives  that  there  is  a  sound,  a  deep  ring 
in  even  a  word  spoken  in  scientific  knowledge;  while  to 
the  unawakened  man  it  seems  foolishness,  even  though  he 
has  the  education  and  wisdom  of  the  twentieth  century. 

When  man  has  attained  unto  scientific  knowledge  he 
knows  how  to  live.  He  no  longer  thinks  it  necessary  to 
run  hither  and  thither,  but  with  his  mind  scientifically 
adjusted  he  serenely  abides  in  contentment  wherever  he 
may  be,  and  by  keeping  his  mind  stayed  upon  God  he  is 
conscious  of  Peace,  Harmony  and  Love. 

This  great  family  of  God  who  inhabit  the  earth,  even 
though  they  express  in  different  races  and  colors  and  their 
customs  are  different,  yet  they  each  and  all  are  the  chil- 
dren of  God,  and  they  also  are  all  lost  and  living  in 
carnality,  ruled  by  the  carnal  mind.  In  this  mind  the 
evidence  of  the  senses  of  the  carnal  man  play  their  part, 
and  they  are  such  strong  actors  that  they  rule,  very  often, 
as  with  a  rod  of  iron,  enslaving  man  as  long  as  he  has  not 

306 


306  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

scientific  knowledge  and  does  not  know  that  it  is  possible 
for  him  to  become  a  free  man. 

When  man  awakens  from  the  sound  sleep  which  the 
carnal  spell  has  cast  over  him  he  will  begin  to  investigate 
and  will  find  that  there  is  scientific  knowledge  which, 
when  understood  and  used,  will  assist  him  to  free  himself 
from  the  illusive  dream  of  carnality. 

What  is  scientific  knowledge,  and  how  does  man  attain 
unto  it?  Scientific  knowledge  is  knowing  God  and  His 
attributes  as  they  express  throughout  the  creation  of  God, 
knowing  man  as  he  is,  the  Universe  as  it  is  and  the  Law 
which  operates  through  the  whole. 

That  which  Is  is  the  Absolute,  God ;  and  God  is  in  ex- 
pression in  the  Spiritual  Universe  and  all  its  forms ;  this 
Spiritual  is  just  back  of  that  which  seems  to  be.  Jesus 
was  the  perfect  expression  of  man  in  form.  He  expressed 
God  in  as  high  an  expression  as  is  possible  upon  this 
plane  of  existence, — in  His  Mind,  Body,  Soul,  Spirit.  He 
was  in  the  Christ-Mind, — in  a  fullness  sufiiciently  clear 
for  Him  to  live  it  in  the  outer  and  bring  it  into  expres- 
sion in  and  through  His  body,  mind.  Soul  and  Spirit. 
Therefore,  he  is  an  elder  Son  of  God  in  conscious  unfold- 
ment,  and  our  Elder  Brother.  He  is,  therefore,  our  pat- 
tern, not  only  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  but  in 
His  daily  life.  He  is  our  way-shower,  because  He  gave 
the  message  of  Truth  and  by  example  proved  the  cor- 
rectness of  it. 

Because  Jesus'  message  is  young  upon  the  earth  and 
many  of  those  who  have  endeavored  to  follow  it  have 
failed  to  catch  the  sweet  depth  and  the  scientific  knowl- 
edge contained  within  it,  that  does  not  signify  that  it  is 
not  the  Wisdom  of  God  unto  salvation. 

Jesus,  with  the  might  of  the  Christ,  knew  well  what 
those  who  accepted  His  message  would  encounter  from 
the  men  of  earth  who  were  not  sufficiently  awakened  to 
see  that  He  was  sowing  a  better  quality  of  grain  than  that 
to  which  they  were  accustomed.  The  adversary  endeav- 
ored, then,  as  the  opposing  forces  do  today,  to  crush  out 


Scientific  Knowledge  307 

and  destroy  the  true-sounding  note  of  His  message ;  but 
that  is  impossible,  as  what  man  or  number  of  men  can 
stay  the  Scientific  Law  of  Action,  which  IS, — God,  in  and 
through  the  bursting  forth  of  the  grain  of  wheat  from  the 
cloistered  cell,  expressing  life  until  it  yields  graciously  its 
grain  to  the  man  who  desires  it,  whose  faith  is  sufficiently 
strong  to  cultivate  the  ground  and  sow  the  seed  ? 

This  same  Scientific  Law  of  Action  is  in  operation  in 
and  through  Jesus  Christ  today  as  when  He  walked  the 
streets  of  Jerusalem  and  over  the  Judean  hills,  in  and 
through  His  message  and  in  and  through  those  who  have 
heard  this  message  and  caught  enough  of  the  sweetness 
to  endeavor  to  follow  it. 

As  the  farmer  ever  keeps  his  eye  upon  the  field  of  grain 
and  is  ready  to  render  assistance  should  flood,  wind  or 
any  other  enemy  come  to  destroy  it,  so  Jesus,  our  Elder 
Brother,  is  watching  over  this  message  which  He  gave  to 
humanity  and  over  all  those  who  have  accepted  it.  He  is 
Conscious  Scientific  Knowledge  and  understands  that  this 
knowledge  is  portrayed  in  His  message;  therefore,  for 
two  thousand  years  He  has  kept  watch  over  His  flock,  as 
the  farmer  in  the  season  when  the  grain  is  coming  into 
expression  keeps  watch  over  his  crop. 

Two  thousand  years  bring  the  close  of  the  cycle,  and 
this  is  the  harvesting  time  for  the  men  of  earth  who  have 
the  Truth.  The  harvest  time  is  here,  and  Jesus  Christ 
and  His  ministering  angels  are  watching  over  the  field 
and  are  ready  to  assist  every  one  who  individually  dis- 
cerns, understands  and  desires  it. 

Scientific  knowledge  is  necessary  at  the  harvest  time 
and  the  individual  himself  must  glean  this  understanding 
which  is  in  the  message  of  the  Nazarene,  clear,  deep  and 
strong. 

Jesus  said,  * '  Ye  shall  know  the  Truth. '  ^  Many  sweet, 
loving  and  faithful  Christians  have  lived  their  lives  ac- 
cording to  their  understanding  of  the  Master's  teaching, 
and  in  faith  have  passed  over  the  river  which  divides  the 
two  concepts, — this  plane  and  the  next, — their  faith  so 


308  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

strong  and  their  love  so  deep  that  they  waver  not  to  step 
into  the  boat  which  carries  them  across  what  to  the  sense- 
mind  is  the  dark  river  of  death.  However,  these  have  not 
caught  the  fulhiess  of  their  beloved  Master  ^s  teachings, 
because  He  plainly  said,  *'Ye  shall  know  the  Truth/' 
"When  man  knows  the  Truth  unto  realization,  he  is  free 
indeed;  yea,  as  free  as  the  individual  grain  of  wheat 
which  is  so  ripe  that  it  rests  loosely  in  the  head  which 
nature  formed  to  sustain  it  until  the  harvest. 

The  scientific  knowledge  of  the  Truth  comes  into  rec- 
ognition and  understanding  by  the  individual  who  is,  as 
the  ripe  grain,  ready  for  harvesting.  The  farmer  values 
the  wheat  and  cares  for  it ;  so  Jesus  Christ  values  all  who 
have  grown  to  full  manhood  in  the  Christ-image  and 
cares  for  them.  God  has  a  place  prepared  for  these  and 
will  see  that  they  are  conveyed  to  their  abode. 

This  has  no  reference  to  the  death  of  the  ripened  Soul, 
but  to  man  becoming  conscious  of  his  being  as  God  cre- 
ated him  and  conscious  of  his  Sonship ;  for  then  he  be- 
comes a  Conscious  Son  of  God  and  knows  he  is  joint  heir 
with  Jesus  Christ ;  he  then  perceives  the  Truth  and  has 
gleaned  the  golden  grain  until  he  has  Scientific  Knowl- 
edge. 

For  man  to  have  all  knowledge  concerning  the  scien- 
tific understanding  of  the  Truth  and  not  to  use  it,  and 
place  himself,  mind  first  and  then  body.  Soul  and  Spirit, 
scientifically  in  harmony  with  God  and  understandingly 
permit  the  science  in  action  to  work  in  and  through  him, 
is  of  no  value.  He  would  only  know  about  it,  but  knowl- 
edge without  the  scientific  use  of  it  to  cleanse  and  keep 
clean  his  mind  and  the  body  is  of  no  benefit.  * '  God  rests 
in  action.''  God's  scientific  Law  is  action  forever  and 
ever.  No  man  is  restored  to  his  equilibrium,  which  ex- 
presses in  Love  and  Harmony,  until  he  understands  the 
scientific  aspect  of  God  as  well  as  His  other  aspects.  It 
is  the  whole  Truth  which  man  is  required  to  know  before 
he  can  become  forever  clear  of  the  wheel  which  moves  in 
carnality. 


Scientific  Knowledge  309 

Man  gains  nothing  by  remaining  in  the  carnal  dream 
and  living  according  to  the  carnal  law;  because  from 
birth  to  death  is  a  short  span,  even  though  it  be  three 
score  years  and  ten ;  and  then  comes  a  resting  period,  fol- 
lowed by  expression  again,  and  on  and  on  the  weary 
numberless  round  with  nothing  gained  until  he  awakens. 
Then  he  turns  his  face  the  other  way  and  looks  to  the 
great  Eternal  One,  who  is  forever  sure  and  steadfast  in 
His  Majesty  of  Truth,  just  behind  the  curtain  of  car- 
nality. However,  it  is  only  the  awakened  one  who  per- 
ceives what  lies  behind  the  veil.  It  is  his  eye  only  which 
penetrates  through  the  deep  blue  dome  of  the  sky  above 
and  perceives  the  Infinite.  'Tis  his  eye  alone  that  sees 
into  the  bowels  of  the  earth  and  knows  that  the  Infinite  is 
there.  When  the  awakened  man  thus  penetrates  the 
height  and  depth  of  God  he  soon  will  learn  the  scientific 
action  of  God  which  is  in  and  through  all.  Then  his 
brain  will  become  a  perfectly  attuned  instrument  for  the 
Divine  mentality  to  use ;  then  the  Divine  Mind  only  will 
be  permitted  to  operate  in  it. 

When  in  this  scientific  knowledge  man  closes  his  men- 
tality to  all  minds,  it  matters  not  upon  what  plane  they 
are  functioning,  and  opens  it  to  the  Divine  Mind  only,  he 
then  is  in  scientific  rapport  with  the  God-Mind.  Man 
then  is  protected ;  no  mind  from  any  plane  can  enter  his 
mentality  when  he  is  asleep  or  awake  while  his  mind  is 
scientifically  functioning  in  God. 

Angels  from  the  throne  of  God  can  minister  to  this 
man,  because  there  is  nothing  to  hinder  them  in  perform- 
ing their  ministry  as  the  Father  desires.  Because  man 
has  through  this  scientific  knowledge  cleansed  his  mind 
of  the  false  beliefs  which  compose  the  carnal  mind,  he 
then  is  a  knowing  one,  and  can  know  the  whole  Truth 
unto  the  great  Freedom  from  illusion,  if  he  so  desires. 

"The  whole  Truth  and  nothing  but  the  Truth''  is  the 
one  thing  needful  at  the  dawn  of  this  new  age  which  is 
being  ushered  in  with  such  strength.    The  foundations  of 


310  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

old  things  are  shaking,  as  this  is  the  ending  of  the  old 
condition  of  things. 

Civilization,  which  has  reached  its  zenith,  would  go 
down  to  rise  no  more  until  it  has  evolved  again  in  other 
peoples  if  it  were  not  that  this  is  the  harvest  time,  and 
Jehovah,  Jesus  Christ  and  their  ministering  angels  are 
keeping  watch  over  His  flock.  The  spiritually  awakened 
ones  will,  by  and  through  the  assistance  of  Jesus  Christ 
and  His  angels,  hold  the  balance  of  power  and  spirit- 
uality will  deface  the  force  of  evil  that  the  harvest  may 
be  gathered  and  garnered.  "When  the  farmer  gathers  the 
grain  he  gathers  it  grain  and  grain ;  so,  individually,  one 
by  one,  the  men  of  earth  become  harvested,  and  Jesus 
Christ  and  His  ministering  angels  take  care  of  man.  As 
when  the  ripe  grains  of  wheat  which  rest  easily  and 
patiently  in  the  individual  compartments  of  the  head  of 
wheat,  when  the  thresher  comes,  are  removed  and  carried 
to  the  granary,  so  man  who  is  ripe  in  spirituality  and 
scientific  knowledge  will  be  cared  for  by  the  caretaker. 
Man  here  has  reached  a  place  where  he  must  consciously 
abide  in  the  Omnipresent  God. 

When  man  has  cleansed  his  mind  until  his  mentality  is 
empty,  swept  and  garnished  of  the  illusions  which  com- 
pose the  carnal  mind,  and  understandingly  places  his 
mentality,  clean  and  clear,  in  accord  with  the  mind  of 
God,  his  clean  mentality  is  a  perfect  instrument  to  reflect 
the  fullness  of  God's  mind  as  the  Father  desires  it  to  be 
revealed.  Man  here  has  no  self-will;  it  has  been  swept 
out  from  his  mind,  therefore  he  has  no  desire  but  only  to 
do  the  will  of  the  Infinite,  our  Mather-Mother-God. 

It  would  be  impossible  for  care  or  anxiety  to  come  into 
the  mentality  thus  cleansed  and  understandingly  placed 
en  rapport  with  the  Father's  Will.  Easy  indeed  is  the 
abiding  when  man  is  thus  scientifically  attuned. 

Another  note  must  necessarily  be  sounded  here;  it  is 
the  Spiritual  quickening.  Jesus  Christ  said  to  Nicode- 
mus,  **Ye  must  be  born  again ;  yea,  ye  must  be  born  from 
above.'*    This  is  the  New  Birth ;  it  takes  place  when  man 


SciENTiPic  Knowledge  311 

has  strong  desire  for  it  and  comes  into  accord  with  God's 
Eternal  Law  and  God  touches  man  into  Spiritual  Con- 
sciousness and  the  conscious  Christ  is  born  in  him.  When 
the  two-fold  nature  of  man  is  quickened,  mind  and  Spirit, 
the  Soul  (conscious  life)  will  throw  off  the  encasement 
which  has  held  it  from  full  expression  and  respond  with 
Conscious  Life.  Then  the  body,  ''the  outer  sheath'*  or 
fourth  fold  of  man,  will  become  quickened  by  this  inter- 
nal action  which  is  taking  place,  and  it,  too,  will  become 
conscious  life.  Then  Regeneration  takes  place  and  man 
becomes  freed  from  the  thraldom  of  the  illusive  desires 
and  dreams  of  the  carnal  man.  Then  man  is  redeemed 
indeed,  his  four-fold  nature  having  been  brought  out 
from  the  carnal  dream  and  he  stands  a  being  perfect, 
pure,  holy,  peaceful  and  harmonious,  *'hid  with  Christ 
in  God." 

God  is  the  Infinite,  the  Universal  Father-Mother,  and 
Christ  the  Universal  Son.  When  man  has  attained  the 
Redeemed  state  of  Being,  he  becomes  a  conscious  individ- 
ualized Christ,  the  Son  of  the  Living  God. 

Jesus  came  to  earth,  sent  by  the  Father,  and  took  birth 
in  the  human  family  to  assist  men  that  they  might  learn 
of  their  heirship.  Jesus  was  conscious  of  His  heirship 
from  the  first,  but  step  by  step  He  moved  over  the  path 
which  humanity  travels  and  met  and  mastered  every  law 
which  binds  as  with  chains  the  children  of  earth.  He  left 
His  rules  that  each  man  when  he  comes  to  that  place  upon 
the  Path  may,  if  he  so  desires,  learn  and,  applying  them, 
arise  a  master  over  every  carnal  condition,  be  it  disease, 
sorrow,  pain,  anxiety,  fear,  doubt,  old  age  or  poverty.  At 
the  end  of  His  ministry  Jesus  proved  His  dominion  over 
death.  He  left  the  rules  clear,  that  when  man  reaches 
that  place  upon  the  Path,  in  the  harvesting  time  for  his 
Soul-quickening,  he  can,  with  the  help  of  God  and  Jesus 
Christ  and  the  ministering  angels,  step  aside  from  death 
a  victor. 

This  is  the  completeness,  the  fullness  of  the  message 
which  was  given  to  humanity  through  the  lips  of  Jesus 


312  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

nearly  two  thousand  years  ago,  and  this  is  the  cycle  when 
man  (those  who  are  in  tune  with  the  music  of  the 
spheres,  they  who  are  in  rhythm  with  the  Infinite  Law  of 
Action,  which  is  God)  will  be  quickened  as  in  the  twin- 
kling of  an  eye.  It  is  God  who  ever  giveth  the  increase, 
and  it  is  God  who  bringeth  about  this  final  act;  but  it 
will  be  only  those  who  are  attuned  to  the  rhythm  of  the 
Love  and  Harmony  of  God  who  are  of  the  Eedeemed. 
These  are  the  one  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand  fig- 
uratively spoken  of  in  the  Bible. 

These  will  come  from  all  nations,  colors,  races,  creeds 
and  cults.  Yea,  from  the  East  and  West,  from  the  South 
and  the  North,  Infinite  Love  will  gather  them  and  endue 
them  with  Wisdom,  Love  and  Power,  that  they  become 
perfect  instruments  in  the  Father's  hands  in  helping  to 
establish  the  Spiritual  Age  upon  the  Earth. 

In  the  midst  of  the  tribulations, — yea,  ' '  the  distress  of 
nations," — God  will  call  the  spiritually  prepared  army 
into  action.  They  will,  in  the  midst  of  the  conflicting 
times  of  the  battle  of  Armageddon,  hold  up  the  banner  of 
the  Christ  and  proclaim  that  it  is  the  finishing  time  of 
the  old  dispensation  and  that  the  dawn  of  the  Spirit  day 
is  at  hand.  The  name  of  Jesus  Christ  shall  be  proclaimed. 
He  is  a  constant  reality,  although  invisible  to  the  world. 

The  Spiritually  awakened  and  quickened  will  be 
guided,  guarded,  sustained  and  protected  continually 
during  these  trying  times ;  but  they  necessarily  must  re- 
main in  accord  with  the  mind  of  God  and  Spiritually  in 
rhythm  with  the  music  of  the  spheres,  consciously  abiding 
in  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty  and  securely  anchored  to 
the  Eternal  Rock, — the  Rock  of  Ages,  the  Rock  of  Truth. 
Although  Jehovah  is  doing  His  part,  and  Jesus  Christ 
and  His  ministering  angels  are  about  their  Father's  busi- 
ness, man  must  do  his  part  and  continue  to  do  it.  Man 's 
part  is  to  knowingly  and  understandingly  abide  in  the 
Father's  Will  and  keep  his  heart  filled  with  love  for  God 
and  love  for  his  fellow-man. 


Scientific  Knowledge  313 

Universal  Brotherhood  will  be  established  by  and 
through  the  Christ  ruling  in  and  through  the  Christ, 
which  is  born  in  each  individual  concept.  Those  of  the 
Christ-born  are  the  ones  who  will  know  Him  when  He 
comes  and  welcome  His  call.  In  and  through  these  He 
will  find  Faith  upon  the  earth.    So  Be  It ! 


CHAPTER  XXII 
UNDERSTANDINGLY   ABIDING. 

GOD,  the  Infinite  Intelligence,  which  holds  the  world 
in  His  hand  and  it  tests  not  His  strength,  is  guid- 
ing the  ship  in  which  humanity  is  embarked. 

This  Intelligence  is  so  alert  and  everywhere  present 
that  it  notices  the  sparrow's  fall  and  knows  the  thoughts 
of  man 's  mind  and  the  desires  of  the  human  heart.  Intel- 
ligence is  Infinite  and  everywhere  present.  In  this  Infi- 
nite Intelligence, — this  loving  God  and  Father, — there  is 
a  safe  abiding  place.  As  this  Infinite  is  everywhere  pres- 
ent, its  abiding  place  is  everywhere  present.  Then  the 
man  who  has  understanding  can  abide  in  serene  confi- 
dence and  trusting  faith  in  the  presence  of  this  Presence 
which  enfolds  all  in  its  loving  care.  To  understandingly 
abide  in  the  Father's  House  and  stand  ready  to  become 
of  service  in  the  Infinite  Intelligence  when  He  desires, 
requires  knowledge,  insight,  perception, — ^yea,  vision. 
What  is  meant  by  vision  ?  It  is  where  man  stands  clothed 
in  the  Christ-Consciousness,  having  the  seership  of  the 
Christ,  which  visions  the  Absolute  as  it  is. 

When  man  visions  the  Allness,  the  Wholeness  and  the 
Absoluteness  of  the  Infinite,  he  gladly  abides  in  this  great 
Presence  and  understandingly  knows  that  there  is  naught 
beside  it.  With  this  vision  man  stands  still  in  action  in 
the  Eternality  of  the  Allness  of  that  which  IS ;  and  this 
is  God  unmanifest  and  manifest. 

From  the  vantage  ground  of  vision  man  looks  out 
over  and  through  the  human  family  which  dwells  upon 
the  earth,  seeing  them  weaving  their  web  of  carnality  in 

314 


Understandingly  Abiding  315 

which  each  and  all  are  enmeshed  so  completely  that  none 
except  those  who  have  climbed  the  steep  Path  which  leads 
up  the  Mountain  of  Truth  and  have  gained  sight  from 
this  position  can  see  any  way  out  from  the  carnal  con- 
dition. 

There  is  no  sure  abiding  place  in  the  carnal  dream, 
and  the  human  family,  be  it  the  king  on  his  throne  or  the 
peasant  in  the  field,  drifts  with  the  human  tide  as  it  ebbs 
and  flows.  Those  dwelling  in  the  carnal  dream  of  illu- 
sions have  not  light  to  see  up  and  over  the  web,  because 
they  have  not  vision. 

There  is  nothing  in  humanity  or  the  carnal  concept  of 
man  which  can  assist  him  to  pass  around  and  through  the 
maze  of  the  illusiveness  of  carnality.  The  sense-evidence 
is  so  strong  in  the  unawakened  state  of  man  that  he  can- 
not believe  that  they  are  the  counterfeit  of  the  Spiritual 
man's  Soul-sense.  In  this  state  man  is  abiding  in  the 
carnal  dream,  and  in  misery,  sorrow,  disease  and  death  he 
lives  and  endeavors  to  be  content  with  things  as  they 
appear  to  him.  As  long  as  man  believes  that  God  is  the 
author  of  evil  and  its  outpictures  of  misery,  he  is  still 
dwelling  in  the  carnal  dream  and  living  the  human  life  of 
humanity.  Therefore,  he  has  not  the  Light  of  Truth 
which  would  cause  him  to  vision  into  the  substance  which 
is  Spirit, — the  Absolute  God  in  His  unmanifest  and  man- 
ifest state.  When  man  gleans  sufficient  light  to  see  that 
there  is  the  substance,  the  Real,  just  back  of  the  illusion, 
— the  human  life, — he  will  begin  to  move  onward  with 
the  desire  to  gain  light  which  will  enable  him  to  pass 
through  the  shadows. 

Humanity  in  all  its  different  stages  is  an  illusion.  As 
long  as  man  is  asleep  in  the  dream  of  the  reality  of  the 
illusions,  he  contentedly  abides  there.  He  would  prefer 
not  to  hear  words  of  light  which  would  cause  him  to 
awaken  from  the  belief  in  the  counterfeit,  which  is  car- 
nality. He  is  abiding,  as  he  thinks,  but  his  abiding  place 
has  a  foundation  of  sand,  which  sooner  or  later  the  ebb 
and  flow  of  the  tide  will  wash  away,  when  he  will  see  that 


316  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

there  is  no  sure  or  safe  abiding  place  in  the  carnal 
world.  ''Man's  extremity^ is  God's  opportunity"  is  a 
true  adage  from  the  ancient  Sages.  When  man  reaches 
the  extremity  of  his  own  efforts  and  sees  the  foundations 
thereof  washing  away,  he  looks  higher  and  deeper  than 
the  surface.  When  man  does  this  something  will  happen, 
because  he  will  catch  a  glimpse  of  Light,  even  though  it 
may  seem  so  small  that  he  will  not  at  first  acknowledge 
to  himself  that  he  has  seen  it.  That  Light  is  powerful, 
because  it  is  God ;  and  when  once  seen  it  cannot  easily  be 
dismissed  from  the  mind.  This  Light  is  the  Real,  of 
which  the  light  which  the  carnal  man  perceives  is  the 
reflection  or  counterfeit.  There  necessarily  must  be  the 
Real  before  there  can  be  the  counterfeit.  When  man 
awakens  from  his  contentment  in  the  carnal  concept  of 
Life  and  sees  that  in  which  he  is  continually  abiding  is 
unstable  and  unsatisfying,  he  sets  about  to  seek  out  that 
abiding  place  which  is  sure  and  steadfast,  where  the 
foundation  is  solid  rock  and  the  abiding  full  of  peace.  He 
soon  learns  it  requires  understanding  to  reach  that  place 
and  to  abide  there  after  it  is  reached.  To  gain  under- 
standing knowledge  is  required, — true  knowledge.  Wis- 
dom and  intelligence  are  required.  These,  coupled  to- 
gether, bring  understanding  which  will  enable  man  to 
abide  in  the  presence  of  the  Infinite,  the  Absolute,  and 
to  trustingly  dwell  in  ''the  Secret  Place  of  the  Most 
High."  From  this  trysting  place  he  looks  through  the 
mask  of  humanity  and,  with  vision  strong  enough,  he 
reads  the  illusions  of  carnality  as  clearly  as  man  sees  the 
flowers  in  his  own  garden. 

The  mind  of  the  man  who  is  asleep  in  the  carnal  dream 
and  filled  with  dishonesty,  deceit  and  cunning  cannot 
deceive  or  entrap  him,  because  he,  with  the  eye  of  vision, 
sees  through  the  carnal  mind  of  man  and  knows  the  un- 
stable thoughts  which  inhabit  it. 

The  man  of  vision  who  is  understandingly  abiding  in 
the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High  and  has  the  mind  of 


I 


Understandingly  Abiding  317 

Christ  thinking  within  him  will  have  compassion  upon 
all,  because  he  knows  that  all  men  are  brothers,  whether 
still  asleep  in  carnality  or  awakened  in  the  reality  of 
Spirit.  He  will  voice  a  prayer,  be  it  silent  or  audible,  it 
matters  not,  to  the  Loving  Father  that  all  men  may 
awaken  from  the  sound  slumber  which  is  caused  by  the 
false  beliefs  which  fill  his  mind,  woven  from  the  fabric  of 
the  carnal  mind  and  holding  man  under  the  illusion  that 
its  shadows  are  reality.  Thus  we  see  that  there  are  two 
abiding  places,  one  the  Real  and  Permanent,  the  other 
the  unreal,  the  impermanent,  being  composed  of  illusions. 

Man  sees  death  take  place  and  the  physical  form  which 
was  the  tenement  of  the  Real  Man  disappears  from  sight. 
In  the  carnal  concept  this  is  real  and  man  mourns  the  loss 
of  the  departed  one.  His  vision  being  dull,  he  sees  only 
the  outer  mask  of  man  and  all  things  in  the  world  around 
him ;  but  the  man  of  vision  sees  that  death  does  not  affect 
the  Real  Man,  that  which  ' '  God  created  in  His  Image  and 
Likeness,'*  as  he  could  not  die,  being  the  expression  of 
God-Life,  which  never  dies ;  and  the  mask,  being  only  the 
shadow,  could  not  have  died,  for  Life  cannot  enter  shad- 
ows. Then  the  man  with  vision,  when  he  understandingly 
abides  in  the  Infinite  Presence,  sees  the  Real  Man  at  all 
times  when  he  is  inhabiting  the  Temple  of  clay,  and  after 
he  withdraws  from  the  fleeting  body  of  flesh.  There  is 
no  veil  to  vision !  It  sees !  The  man  of  vision,  then,  who 
is  understandingly  abiding  in  the  center  of  God  and 
knowing  that  his  feet  are  firmly  fastened  to  the  Rock- 
Truth,  can  trustingly  stand  and  watch  without  being 
disturbed  or  swayed  the  forming  and  unforming  of  the 
universe  or  systems  of  universes  and  the  passing  of  man 
from  birth  to  death  and  back  to  birth  again  as  he  lives 
upon  the  path  which  winds  its  crooked  way  through 
carnality. 

Man  may  at  times,  when  he  visions  clear  the  path  over 
which  those  whom  he  loves  must  travel,  do  as  Jesus  did 
when  he  sat  upon  the  mountain  overlooking  Jerusalem 
and  saw  how  long  and  rough  the  path  over  which  its 


318  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

people  must  pass  ere  they  awaken  sufficiently  to  discern 
the  knowledge,  wisdom  and  understanding  which  would 
enable  them  to  arise  and  start  upon  the  narrow  Path 
which  leads  straight  up  the  mountain  side.  Jesus  sor- 
rowed and  exclaimed,  ''Jerusalem!  Jerusalem!  How 
oft  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together  even  as 
a  hen  gathereth  her  brood,  but  ye  would  not. ' '  Jesus  had 
understanding  and  vision  and  He  knew  that  those  still 
living  in  the  carnal  concept  would  arrive  at  the  place 
where  they  would  awaken ;  but  after  the  awakening  comes 
there  is  the  ''working  out  of  their  own  salvation,"  the 
extricating  themselves  from  the  web  of  illusions.  Stormy 
and  rough  indeed  is  the  ocean  of  woe  before  man  learns 
to  turn  his  mind  within  and  there,  in  the  secret  place  of 
his  own  Soul,  commune  with  the  Infinite,  our  Father- 
Mother,  and  gain  knowledge,  wisdom  and  understanding 
which  will  cause  him  to  wisely  shape  his  course,  lift  the 
sails  and  let  the  Infinite  Spirit  fill  them  and  God*s  hand 
steer  the  bark  and  Infinite  Love  bring  him  safely  into 
port. 

When  man  has  understanding,  which  is  gained  through 
knowledge,  wisdom  and  intelligence,  he  understands  that 
God  finished  His  work  and  pronounced  it  good, — ^yea, 
very  good.  Then  God  rested  from  the  works  which  He 
had  done.  With  the  eye  of  vision  man  sees  that  there  is 
naught  in  all  God's  universe,  vast  though  it  is,  for  him  to 
do,  because  God  did  it  and  announced  it ' '  finished. ' '  The 
man  of  vision  will  understandingly  abide  in  the  midst  of 
God's  finished  works.  Can  man  add  to  that  which  God 
has  finished  and  called  good  ?  In  the  allegory  in  Genesis, 
the  first  chapter,  we  read,  "God  said.  Let  us  make  man 
in  our  image  and  likeness."  When  man  sees  himself  as 
the  work  of  God,  made  in  "God's  image  and  likeness," 
and  remembers  that  he  is  in  the  midst  of  God's  perfect 
works  "and  is  God's  crowning  glory,"  he  can  easily  see 
when  he,  through  understanding,  comes  into  vision,  that 
he  has  nothing  to  do  but  "To  Be"  and  abide  in  Being; 
and  this  abiding  is  Heaven,  is  Harmony,  and  this  Har- 


I 


Understandingly  Abiding  319 

mony  is  established  in  the  conscious  mind  and  in  the 
body,  radiating  until  man's  world  is  filled  with  it.  This 
is  heaven  within  and  heaven  without.  Man's  environ- 
ments do  not  cause  this  heaven,  neither  can  his  environ- 
ments hinder  him  from  living  and  abiding  in  that  heaven, 
if  he  has  vision  strong  and  clear  enough  to  see  through 
any  undesirable  shadows  which  may  environ  him.  The 
man  of  clear  vision  counts  it  as  naught  to  lay  down  his 
life  for  his  fellow-man,  that  they  might  see  the  Light  of 
Truth.  To  man  who  is  living  in  the  dream  of  carnality 
death  seems  a  great  dark  stone  in  his  path,  but  to  the 
man  of  vision  there  is  no  dark  stone,  but  only  the  Light 
of  God  overshadowing  the  Path,  and  where  the  full  Light 
of  God  is  there  is  no  darkness  and  where  the  Life  of  God 
is  there  is  no  death.  Understandingly  abiding,  then,  is 
to  have  vision  and  know  that  it  is  vision ;  giving  that  rest 
in  action  which  is  the  fullness  of  the  River  of  Life,  bring- 
ing man  into  conscious  immortality. 

When  man,  through  scientific  knowledge  and  its  appli- 
cation, has  cleared  his  mind  of  the  false  beliefs,  fears 
and  doubts,  permitting  the  Divine  Mind  to  operate  in  and 
through  his  mentality,  serenely  and  understandingly 
abiding  in  the  state  of  conscious  union  with  God,  he  is 
then  in  a  place  where  he  can  be  used  by  the  Father  and 
Jesus  Christ  in  quickening  the  minds  of  men  into  the 
shining  of  the  True  Light. 

If  God  had  remained  unmanifest  there  would  have 
been  no  individualized  man  in  expression  and  nothing 
would  be  but  God  in  repose ;  ' '  but  God  desired  to  become 
the  many, ' '  and  creation  sprang  forth  and  stepped  from 
the  womb  of  the  Infinite  into  the  Infinite  Heart.  This  is 
the  point  where  God  became  personal  by  expressing 
through  form.  There  is  nothing  but  God  in  the  begin- 
ning and  there  is  nothing  but  God  now.  This  is  the 
Truth  of  Being,  and  man  to  understandingly  abide  in 
trusting  serenity  in  what  Truth  he  visions  must  of  neces- 
sity come  to  know  the  Whole  Truth.  *'A  little  leaven 
will  leaven  the  whole  lump."    A  ray  of  Light  will  light 


320  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

the  Path  unto  the  point  where  the  full-orbed  Truth  is 
seen  in  its  perfect  shining.  When  man,  deep  down  in  his 
own  being,  abides  in  God  he  is  poised,  stayed,  calm  and 
serene.  No  storm  nor  appearance  of  storm  can  disturb 
him,  because  he  abides  in  the  serenity  which  is  greater 
than  all  shadow.  His  mind  being  stayed  upon  God,  the 
Infinite,  it  expresses  in  his  Being.  When  man  is  thus 
united  in  the  Infinite,  there  can  be  in  his  mind  no  sepa- 
rateness  between  himself  and  the  Infinite.  He  knows 
that  the  individual  ray  of  the  Infinite  is  within  him  and 
has  not  removed  itself  from  its  source, — the  Infinite.  In 
this  abiding  consciousness  of  union  with  the  Infinite  man 
visions  the  individual  expressions  of  God  in  man  and  un- 
derstands that  all  men  are  at-one  with  God,  the  Father. 
He  then  sees  clearly  that  there  is  not  nor  can  there  be 
any  respecter  of  expressions  with  God.  After  man  awak- 
ens and  through  effort  attains  unto  knowledge,  wisdom 
and  intelligence  which  merges  into  understanding,  it  re- 
quires faithfulness  to  serenely  abide  ''in  the  secret  place 
of  the  Most  High,*'  even  though  the  Soul  is  awake,  the 
mind  illumined,  the  body  quickened  and  the  Spirit 
breathing  softly  through  and  through  his  entire  con- 
sciousness ;  but  when  man  knows  also  of  the  great  Divine 
Plan,  he  can  more  securely  await  in  the  place  where  he  is 
until  the  Father  has  need  for  him,  and  act  as  he  is  led  by 
the  *  *  Still  Small  Voice, ' ' — that  same  voice  which  spoke  to 
him  in  the  Garden  of  Eden  when  he  first  began  to  form  a 
veil  in  his  mind  between  himself  and  God,  when  he  began 
to  see  himself  unclothed,  having  lost  his  clear  concept  of 
his  at-one-ment  with  the  Father  and  began  to  form  cover- 
ing for  himself.  The  covering  of  fig  leaves  was  the 
shadow  of  the  thoughts  which  were  forming  the  carnal 
mind.  Man  weaves  the  thoughts  together  into  a  web 
which  is  carnality,  just  as  he  united  the  fig  leaves  to- 
gether for  covering. 

To  become  a  Conscious  Son  of  God  and  stand  Re- 
deemed, man  must  unclothe  himself.  He  must  stand 
naked  before  the  Infinite  when  he  returns  Home ;  just  as 


Understandingly  Abiding  321 

he  was  naked  when  he  left  the  Father's  House  in  Para- 
dise. 

Man  does  not  belong  to  himself,  but  to  God.  He 
brought  naught  of  his  own  out  from  his  Father's  House, 
which  is  Paradise,  except  his  desire  for  change,  which 
is  his  free-will,  and,  ere  he  arrives  at  the  portal  of  his 
Father's  Home  again,  he  will  have  surrendered  this 
desire-mind  to  God  and  then  there  is  no  mind  in  him  but 
the  mind  of  God  and  the  one  desire,  which  is  to  do  as 
God  wills. 

When  the  man  of  earth  has  just  awakened,  he  very 
often  sees  no  beauty  in  the  Truth  and  the  invisible  pre- 
sense  of  the  Truth  is  so  intangable  to  him  that  he  cannot 
believe  that  it  is  there.  With  the  mind  thus,  there  is  a 
gulf  between  himself  and  the  God  that  is.  When  man 
understandingly  abides  in  God,  he  is  free  from  all  care. 
He  leaves  all  in  the  guiding  hand  of  God  and  ever  re- 
mains ready  and  prepared  to  act  at  the  bidding  of  the 
Infinite  Intelligence.  At  this  harvest  time  man  of  him- 
self can  do  nothing,  as  it  is  God  who  is  the  doer.  He  can 
only  keep  himself  a  perfectly  attuned  instrument  to  be 
used  to  assist  the  angels  who  are  in  the  service  of  Jesus 
Christ.  None  but  those  who  have  washed  their  garments 
in  the  blood  of  the  lamb,  which  is  symbolic  of  wisdom. 
Love  and  the  gentle  power  of  Truth,  can  be  of  service 
here;  for  it  is  the  wise  virgin  who  will  enter  in  and  be 
of  service  in  opening  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  children 
of  earth  to  the  shining  of  the  Light. 

To  understandingly  abide,  it  is  necessary  to,  as  the 
wise  virgins  spoken  of  by  Jesus  in  His  parable,  *'have 
the  lamps  filled  with  oil."  The  seer  visions  that  the 
lamp  is  the  body  of  the  wise  virgin  and  that  the  oil  is  the 
Holy  Spirit  within  it.  When  the  seer  hears  the  soft 
sweet  voice  of  the  bridegroom,  "the  Saviour,"  calling,  he 
arises  and  passes  out  to  meet  Him.  These  are  they  who 
are  understandingly  abiding  in  union  with  God  and  are 
ready  to  do  their  part  in  assisting  to  establish  the  deep, 
deep  Truth  in  the  hearts  and  minds  of  mankind. 


322  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Now  is  the  day  when  mankind  will  be  brought  face  to 
face  with  the  Message  of  Truth  in  its  fullness ;  and  bles- 
sed indeed  is  he  who  hears  the  early  call  and  does  not 
linger  until  the  mid-night  cry.  Peal  after  peal  of  the 
heavenly  call  will  ring  over  the  earth  at  this  present  time, 
calling  the  laborers  into  the  harvest  whitening  in  the 
human  family.  Those  who  are  ready  are  ripe  fruit  upon 
the  human  tree;  these  will  hear  the  call  as  the  peals  of 
rhythm  sound  throughout  humanity  and  will  vibrate 
with  their  glorious  sound,  so  that  when  the  final  call  is 
given  as  the  Father,  Jehovah-God,  touches  the  ripe  Soul, 
they,  having  done  their  part,  will  be  ready  to  become 
Kedeemed  in  Body,  Mind,  Soul  and  Spirit,  becoming 
conscious  Sons  of  the  Living  God. 

When  the  son  of  man  has  risen  into  the  realization 
that  he  is  the  Conscious  son  of  the  Living  God,  he  is  Re- 
deemed indeed;  the  old  man  is  lost  forever,  having 
merged  into  the  son  of  God  and  lost  all  relationship  with 
humanity, — its  laws,  beliefs,  fears  and  doubts.  This 
Conscious  son  of  God  abides  serenely  in  the  realization 
of  Eternity.  He  lives  in  the  understanding  of  the  Absol- 
ute Truth  and  abides  in  the  midst  of  perfection.  He, 
with  the  eye  of  vision,  sees  the  perfect  man  as  he  moves 
among  the  human  family.  He  visions  through  the  per- 
sonality, the  mask,  and  sees  the  man  whom  * '  God  created 
in  His  image  and  likeness.'*  If  the  vision  is  strong 
enough  and  he  so  desires,  disease,  pain,  limitation  and 
ignorance  will  be  consumed;  and,  when  these  are  con- 
sumed, before  him  is  the  manifestation  of  the  Loving 
God.  Here  man  can  understandingly  abide  in  Eternity, 
in  the  full  consciousness  of  Immortality ;  not  only  of  the 
Soul,  the  invisible  part  of  man,  but  of  his  body,  whose 
Light  of  Life  is  also  immortal.  He  hears  the  songs  of 
the  birds,  as  they  warble  forth  their  morning  greetings 
as  a  part  of  the  great  symphony  of  Being. 

Christ  is  calling.  He  is  speaking  softly,  but  clearly. 
Listen  to  the  gentle  winning  voice.  The  Light  is  shining 
strong  over  land  and  sea  to-day.    Wilt  thou  come  unto 


Understandingly  Abiding  323 

this  abiding  consciousness  and  ever  there  remain?  It 
is  the  fruition ;  it  is  the  fullness  complete  for  every  man. 
Then  he  will  understandingly  abide  in  the  Father's 
House, — At  Home. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

VISION 

GOD  is  Vision.  God-vision  is  everywhere  present. 
He  sees  clearly  in  His  center,  in  His  circumference 
and  everywhere. 

God's  vision  is  Intelligence;  it  is  Love;  it  is  Power; 
it  is  Peace,  Harmony  and  righteousness, — ^these,  God's 
vision,  express  as  He  visions. 

Man 's  vision,  in  his  true  concept,  is  a  perfect  reflection 
of  God's  vision.  If  man  desires  vision,  it  is  necessary 
that  he  adjust  himself  so  that  he  is  a  perfect  reflector. 

"What  is  a  reflector  ?  Man,  when  he  reflects  God.  His 
mind  is  then  swept,  cleansed  and  garnished;  it  is  clean 
from  all  illusions  or  shadows ;  and  he,  the  individual  ray, 
or  expression  of  the  Infinite,  reflects  the  whole ;  just  as  in 
a  mirror  one  sees  all  that  is  in  expression  before  it. 

Man  is  the  individualized  manifestation  of  God.  Man 
is  not  the  Infinite  in  expression,  but  the  expression  of  the 
Infinite.  Therefore,  if  man  desires  infinite  knowledge, 
wisdom,  understanding,  love,  peace  or  power,  he  neces- 
sarily must  polish  his  mind  and,  understandingly  adjust 
it  to  perceive  from  the  Divine  Mind.  His  mind  is,  then, 
the  reflector  and  he  can  read  and  comprehend  what  it  re- 
flects according  to  his  vision. 

God  is  everywhere  present,  shining  in  His  Wisdom, 
and  for  man  to  perceive  this  his  mind  must  reflect  it. 

Some  may  ask,  does  not  reflection  indicate  separation  ? 
Not  to  the  man  of  vision.  Cannot  the  diamond  reflect 
and  radiate  its  own  rays  and  brilliancy,  even  though  it 
is  one  compact  and  complete  gem? 

324 


Vision  325 

There  is  no  more  separation  between  the  expressions 
of  God  than  there  is  in  the  rays  of  the  brilliant  diamond. 

Where  is  the  mind  of  the  student  and  devotee  who 
perceives  distance  or  separation,  when  we  refer  to  reflec- 
tion ?  Far  along  upon  the  Path,  he  truly  is ;  but  he  has 
not  attained  unto  the  illumination  which  bursts  into 
vision,  because  then  he  would  see  that  the  lake  can  reflect 
the  islands  within  it  or  the  river,  the  beautiful  falls,  and 
no  separation  exists, — just  one  serene  lake,  one  active 
river. 

Both  lake  and  river  are  works  of  the  same  Creator 
and  bring  the  greatness,  grandeur  and  beauty  of  the 
Infinite  into  expression.  Nature  is  everywhere  present, 
because  it  is  ''The  outer  garment  of  God"  or  the  lower 
vibration  if  the  Infinite  Whole. 

God  visions  not  the  outer  garment.  He  only  visions 
Himself  and  His  manifestations.  God  visions  the  end 
from  the  beginning  of  man's  sleep  in  the  carnal  state. 
Therefore,  it  matters  not  where  man  may  stray  while  he 
sleeps  in  the  illusive  concept  of  experience ;  as  he  cannot 
go  beyond  God's  vision. 

In  the  bowels  of  the  earth  God's  vision  is,  in  the  center 
of  the  brilliancy  of  the  sun ;  in  the  air,  in  the  water,  in 
the  fire  God's  vision  is.  This  Vision  is  the  All-Seeing 
Eye.  God's  vision  is  Intelligence,  Love  and  Power. 
Then,  thou  man  of  earth,  stand  still  in  mind  and  thou 
wilt  perceive  that  God-vision  sees  thy  every  act, 
thought,  desire  and  deed;  and,  should  thy  carnal  mind 
desire  to  hide  from  this  Infinite  Vision,  thou  canst  not, 
for  God's  vision  pierces  the  granite  mountains  and  the 
sea's  depth  as  easily  as  the  mist  of  a  summer  morning. 

The  Infinite  speaks:  ''Go  where  thou  wilt,  I  am 
there."  In  thine  own  heart,  0  man,  I  abide,  if  thou 
knowest  it  or  not.  In  the  soft  breeze  which  caresses  thy 
form,  I  am.  In  the  bright  sunshine,  I  am.  I  express  in 
the  groves  and  vineyards.     I  sing  in  the  birds,  to  my 


326  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

little  ones  who  are  discouraged.  Through  the  song  of 
the  meadow  lark  and  robin  I  cheer  the  farmer  boy  as  he 
goes  in  the  morning  to  his  tasks  in  the  field.  I  express 
in  the  wild  flowers  which  grow  along  the  path  winding 
its  way  through  the  woods,  and  along  the  way  which 
crosses  the  prairies  and  plains,  that  all  who  have  ears  to 
hear  and  eyes  to  see  may  be  blessed  as  they  pass  along. 

I,  with  my  breath  of  Love,  paint  each  petal  of  every 
flower  that  the  children  of  earth  may  rejoice  in  My 
Beauty.  With  this  same  brush  I  drape  the  mountain 
peaks  in  their  lavender  and  purple  gauze ;  and  the  west- 
ern sky  at  sunset,  with  all  the  brilliant  hues;  and  the 
eastern  sky  at  dawn,  first  in  soft  grey,  then  lavender  and 
pink,  then  the  golden  hue  of  noon,  setting  before  man  the 
holiness  of  My  Beauty  and  the  Beauty  of  My  Holiness. 
Thus  man  has  before  him  the  Infinite  Love  expressed 
in  Beauty. 

When  man  sees  all  this  expression,  can  he  doubt  the 
ever-unfailing  Presence  of  the  great  I  AM,  Who  holds 
His  creation  in  His  Hand,  breathes  in  and  through  all, 
loves  in  and  through  everyone,  and  visions  in  and 
through  all, — the  grain  of  sand,  the  drop  of  water  and 
man,  ''The  crowning  glory  of  God?" 

If  man  is  the  crowning  glory  of  God,  and  God  visions 
man  in  any  place  he  may  be,  can  man  when  he  awakens, 
believe  it  possible  for  him  to  escape  God 's  care.  Love  and 
Protection?  Believe  it  not!  Man  cannot  escape  from 
the  presence  of  the  ever-present  God. 

What  is  necessary  for  man,  after  he  awakens  from  the 
carnal  sleep  sufficiently  to  perceive  that  a  thing  so  great, 
grand  and  beautiful  as  nature,  with  the  seasons  coming 
and  going  in  such  precision,  could  not  be  thus  expressed 
by  chance  ?  Begin  to  search  for  the  hidden  cause.  What 
is  the  hidden  cause  ?  God,  the  Infinite.  For  man  to  gain 
light  upon  that  which  is  hidden  away,  he  must  search.  It 
is  only  by  searching  that  man  finds  anything  that  is 
hidden  from  his  sight.    God,  though  everywhere,  and  at 


Vision  327 

all  times  present,  is  invisible  to  the  outer  eye  of  man,  but 
not  to  the  inner  eye,  which  is  the  Eye  of  Vision,  the  indi- 
vidual expression  of  the  ''All-Seeing  Eye/* 

Then  for  man  to  find  and  learn  to  know  God,  where 
does  he  begin?  By  trying  to  bring  God  nearer  to  him- 
self ?  If  he  should  thus  endeavor,  he  could  not  succeed, 
because  God  is  everywhere  present;  for,  lo,  He  is  man*s 
very  Life,  his  very  breath. 

When  man  perceives  that  with  the  outer  eye  he  sees 
not  the  spiritual  and  invisible  God,  that  his  natural  sight 
is  blurred,  he  knows  that  his  work  is  with  himself,  to 
clear  the  debris  of  carnality  from  before  his  eyes,  that 
his  spiritual  vision  become  clear. 

If  one  looks  through  a  dusty  window  pane,  his  view  is 
misty, — if  he  sees  at  all.  His  seeing  is  according  to  the 
degree  of  dust  which  covers  the  glass.  Man  removes  the 
dust  by  his  own  efforts,  then  the  perfect  glass  is  uncov- 
ered. The  glass  was  perfect,  even  though  man  could  not 
see  through  it  while  it  was  covered  with  the  dust.  The 
dust  was  on  the  outside  of  the  glass,  not  within.  Just  so 
man,  the  expression  of  the  Infinite,  acts  in  the  outer  and, 
when  all  dust  is  washed  away,  his  mind  is  transparent 
and  God's  eternal  Truth  is  written  thereon,  by  reflection 
first,  then  by  incision  or  consciousness  of  its  own  being, 
its  Godhood. 

When  man  has  washed  his  mind  until  it  is  clear,  he 
then  visions  the  Infinite  in  the  Infinite  expressions ;  and, 
with  the  consciousness  of  a  Son  of  God,  visions  through- 
out the  cosmos  as  he  desires  to  see. 

Thus  man  can  see  that  he  is  a  reflector  and  a  reflection. 
Then  there  is  the  clear  God-vision,  where  he  sees  the 
completeness  of  All  and  rests  in  that  Vision. 

When  man  has  his  mind  clean,  clear  and  polished,  he, 
with  this  clear  mind  stayed  upon  God,  the  ''All  and  in 
All,  *  *  has  vision  clear,  strong  and  perfect. 

If  it  is  just  the  mind,  it  will  be  an  intellectual  illumi- 
nation into  an  intellectual  vision.  If  it  is  just  through 
faith  and  the  heart,  the  center  of  the  spiritual  nature  is 


328  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

quickened  into  spiritual  perception ;  but  this,  too,  is  only 
a  part  of  the  great  All.  If  the  Soul  should  awake  and 
burst  its  cloister  and  express  conscious  Life  without  the 
mind  and  heart,  this  alone  would  not  be  desirable ;  and 
when  the  mind  is  cleansed,  then  touched  by  the  Love  of 
God  and  this  Love  quickens  the  Spiritual  Man  and  the 
Soul  expresses  its  power  in  conscious  Life,  then  the  body, 
the  Temple,  will  also  respond  and  the  expression  of  per- 
fection will  become  evident. 

No  man  knows  how  long  it  will  require  for  the  outer 
man  to  express  the  perfect  state  of  the  inner  man ;  and 
none  should  say,  ' '  How  long,  how  long  ? ' '  but  all  should 
know  that  it  is  according  as  the  individual  himself  visions 
through  the  clean  window  glass  of  his  mind. 

A  short  prayer  by  the  one  who  has  vision  may  so  erase 
the  debris  from  the  mind  that  he  begins  to  see.  Though 
the  sick  are  prayed  for  once  or  many  times  by  those  who 
have  scaled  the  heights  and  healing  has  taken  place  in 
the  body  of  the  afflicted,  he  yet  has  his  work  to  do,  which 
is  to  keep  his  mind  clear  and  clean  of  carnal  beliefs, 
which  are  confusions,  doubts  and  fears ;  to  ever  keep  his 
mind  stayed  upon  God,  his  heart  in  tune  with  the  rhythm 
and  music  of  the  spheres,  which  is  spiritual  concord,  and 
his  Soul  expressing  in  Conscious-Life,  the  God-life,  per- 
fect, eternal.  When  the  Soul  expresses  Conscious-Life, 
this  God-Life  expresses  in  and  through  the  body.  This 
being  true,  how  can  death  enter  or  find  an  abiding  place  ? 
How  can  Conscious-Life  be  touched  by  death  ?  Truly,  in 
the  eye  of  vision  this  is  plain,  that  two  opposite  conditions 
cannot  express  at  the  same  time  in  the  same  place. 

When  man  has  attained  vision,  he  is  ever  alert  that  no 
carnal  condition  enter  his  clean  mind  to  cast  a  blur  in  or 
over  his  vision.  God^s  vision  is  clear,  perfect  and  never 
changes. 

If  man  visions  in  his  spiritual  vision  one  day,  then  per- 
mits the  cares  of  this  life  to  enter  and  blur  his  vision  the 
next,  his  is  as  a  pendulum  swinging  and  swinging  and 
never  causing  him  to  rest. 


Vision  329 

When  the  outer  eye  catches  a  vision  of  the  inner  self 
and  realizes  the  greatness  of  it,  earnestness  and  perse- 
verance will  become  manifest  in  that  one,  and  by  and 
through  earnest  endeavor  he  wins  and  wears  the  crown. 
This  crown,  symbollically  spoken  of  in  the  Bible,  is  not  a 
thing  far  away  in  the  sky ;  this  crown,  which  the  awak- 
ened man  is  to  win  and  wear,  is  man's  redeemed  body. 

True  it  is  that  man  must  win  his  pure  body,  because  he 
has  through  ignorance  permitted  his  perfect  body  to 
become  encased  in  the  debris  of  earth. 

Here  is  where  the  man  of  vision  stands  forth  clear  and 
strong,  because  there  is  no  mist  before  his  eyes,  neither 
in  his  mind,  and  he  sees  through  the  encasement  which  is 
of  the  earth  and  visions  it  into  its  rightful  place. 

"When  the  window  glass  is  washed  and  polished,  it  is 
clean  and  clear.  Where  is  the  debris  which  covered  it? 
It  has  disappeared  in  the  washing  process  *  *  and  the  place 
that  knew  it  knows  it  no  more."  It  does  not  exist.  So 
it  is  with  disease,  pain,  inharmony,  confusion  and  igno- 
rance. When  they  are  washed  from  the  mind  by  denials 
and  the  mind  polished  with  the  affirmations  of  Truth, 
then  it  is  that  God  giveth  the  increase  of  the  clear  vision 
which  sees  the  man  as  God  created  him, — pure,  perfect, 
peaceful  and  harmonious.  This  is  the  vision  of  the  Real 
Self,— the  true  Self  of  all. 

When  the  mind  is  clear  of  the  illusions,  ever  keep  it 
stayed  upon  God.  Repeat  the  Lord 's  Prayer,  the  Ninety- 
first  Psalm  or  the  Twenty-third  Psalm  or  Holy  Mantrans, 
and  continue  to  repeat  until  the  mind  is  conscious  of  its 
at-one-ment  with  the  Father-Mother-God. 

God's  vision  is  so  clear  and  strong  that  ''it  sees  even 
the  sparrow's  fall"  and  the  forming  of  the  universes.  It 
knows  where  the  wild  animals  hide  in  their  lair  and  sees 
the  kings  when  they  go  forth  in  pomp. 

Let  man,  with  vision,  stand  forth  in  conscious  strength 
and  trust.  Let  him  perceive  that  there's  nothing  in  all 
God's  Holy  Mountain  to  harm  him ;  neither  to  fear.  Let 
him  be  as  King  David,  who,  when  only  a  shepherd  boy, 


330  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

went  forth  with  faith  and  vision.  His  vision  was  strong 
enough,  and  his  faith  so  deep  that  he  knew  the  Lord  was 
on  his  side.  The  Lord  is  on  the  side  of  all  those  who  have 
vision  clear  enough  to  perceive  Him. 

The  man  of  vision  is  conscious  of  his  immortality  here 
and  now,  and  that  he  is  living  in  the  midst  of  immor- 
tality. 

When  Jesus  Christ  was  speaking  to  His  disciples, 
yearning  to  tell  them  the  Truth,  He  said,  * '  I  have  many 
things  to  say  unto  you,  but  you  cannot  bear  them  now. ' ' 
At  that  state  of  their  understanding,  they  could  not  hear 
what  He  would  say.  Jesus  did  not  endeavor  at  that  time 
to  force  their  understanding  into  vision. 

Jesus  told  them  to  tarry  in  Jerusalem,  after  His  de- 
parture, until  they  were  baptized  with  the  Holy  Spirit. 
This  they  did,  as  is  recorded  in  the  second  chapter  of 
Acts ;  and  after  that  their  vision  was  strong  enough  to 
enable  them  to  proclaim  to  all  men,  fearlessly,  the  mes- 
sage of  man's  redemption.  Their  vision  was  so  strong,  it 
enabled  them  to  look  past  the  death  scene.  Stephen,  as 
they  stoned  him,  stayed  his  mind  on  God  and  he  visioned 
the  heavens  open  and  Jesus  Christ  seated  at  the  right 
hand  of  God. 

Jesus'  vision  was  clear  and  He  prayed,  *' Father,  for- 
give them,  they  know  not  what  they  do. ' '  Vision !  Yes, 
when  the  mists  of  earth  have  cleared  away,  there  will  be 
spirit-sight, — seership;  and  this  becomes  clear-seeing, — 
this  is  Vision  Divine. 

The  carnal  mind  can  become  alert,  sensitive  and  open 
to  seeing  and  seership  become  manifest  in  it.  This  is 
clairvoyant  or  psychic  sight;  but,  being  in  the  carnal 
mind,  it  is  limited  and  cannot  be  relied  upon ;  but  when 
vision,  which  is  God-sight,  becomes  manifest  in  man,  it 
can  be  relied  upon;  and  some  are  given  to  prophesy, 
others  to  proclaim  the  hidden  things  of  the  deep, — secrets 
of  God  as  He  reveals  them  to  His  seers  through  vision; 
and  others,  those  who  vision  God's  great  Love  and 
beauty,  sing  continually  of  the  Being  that  Is. 


Vision  331 

Those  who  vision  the  Lord  of  Glory  in  all  His  great- 
ness, tenderness  and  Love  are  those  who  have  washed 
their  robes  in  the  blood  of  the  lamb,  which  is  wisdom, 
Love  and  the  power  of  Truth, — Truth,  **the  lamb  which 
has  been  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world. '  * 

Washing  the  robes  in  the  blood  of  the  lamb,  in  the 
inner  realization,  is  gaining  wisdom  and  power  by  search- 
ing to  know  the  Truth.  The  earnest  one  will  touch  the 
hem  of  the  garment  of  Love,  when  they  vision  the  Truth, 
and  be  healed  of  his  infirmities. 

The  Truth  is  no  longer  slain  by  the  one  who  has  vision, 
but  he  lays  his  garment  down  at  the  feet  of  Truth ;  and, 
in  humility,  love,  gratitude  and  serenity,  awaits  the  bid- 
ding of  the  Infinite,  our  Father-Mother-God.  Then  it  is 
that  they  go  in  and  out  and  find  pasture  and  the  still 
waters  flowing  silently  through  the  green  fields.  In  these 
fields  the  evergreen  tree  of  Life  stands  stately,  calm  and 
powerful  and  blesses  all  who  come  to  partake  of  its  fruit, 
which  is  immortality.  This  is  vision;  and  all  men  who 
attain  unto  an  understanding  of  the  Truth  will  vision 
this  here  and  now.  There  is  no  river  to  cross.  It  is  in 
the  concept  of  man's  mind  and  heart  the  change  takes 
place;  and  by  and  by  he  visions  himself,  God  and  the 
Universe  as  the  reality.  If  his  vision  is  full  and  com- 
plete, he  has  God-consciousness.  Then  he  loves  God,  be- 
cause he  has  become  conscious  of  God's  Love.  He  also 
loves  his  fellow-man,  because  he  is  filled  with  love ;  yes, 
he  has  become  conscious  that  he  is  the  essence  which  is 
Love. 

When  man  visions  God  as  He  is, — Love,  Peace,  Har- 
mony, Power  and  Good, — man  will  become  peaceful,  har- 
monious and  loving,  because  he  will  express  that  which 
he  visions. 

In  vision  there  is  no  imperfection;  it  cannot  be  seen, 
because  vision  is  of  God  and  sees  only  the  Real  and 
Eternal. 

The  man  of  vision  sees  the  clouds  of  carnality  as  they 
move  along  over  the  surface  of  the  earth,  where  the  man 


332  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

lives  who  is  lost  in  the  carnal  sleep ;  but  these  do  not  ob- 
struct his  vision,  because  he  sees  through  them ;  and,  if 
he  is  fully  conscious  of  his  vision,  he  can  vision  the  clouds 
into  their  native  place.  Where  is  their  native  place? 
Nowhere.    Because  they  are  no-thing. 

Vision,  then,  is  the  one  thing  needful,  as  man  nears  the 
regeneration  period  unto  the  redemption  of  the  body. 

Vision,  strong  and  clear,  visions  the  perfect  man  as  he 
has  ever  been, — pure,  holy  and  redeemed,  a  Son  of  God 
clothed  in  God-consciousness,  which  is  Vision  Divine. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE  SUBSTANTIALITY  OF  THAT  WHICH  IS. 

THAT  which  is,  is  God,  the  Infinite,  'Hhe  All  in  All." 
This  is  the  One  and  only  Substance.  There  is  only 
one  substance  filling  all  space.  This  substance, 
which  is  everywhere  present,  is  the  Breathing,  Pulsating 
Intelligent  Essence,  which  is  God ;  and  this  became  mani- 
fest in  the  myriad  forms  which  compose  Infinity.  All 
forms  are  composed  of  this  intelligent  substance,  accord- 
ing to  the  place  they  are  to  fill  in  the  plan  of  the  Infinite. 

The  lowly  grass  covering  the  barren  earth  with  its 
carpet  of  green  is  not  to  be  despised ;  neither  the  grains 
of  sand  lost  in  the  countlessness  of  themselves  as  they 
clothe  the  seashore  with  a  lowly  garb. 

Is  there  any  substantiality  in  the  grass  and  the  sand  ? 
Yes.  God  is  the  substance  of  each,  and  the  unchanging 
substantiality  of  God  exists  in  each  and  every  grain  of 
sand  and  every  blade  of  grass. 

The  Substantiality  of  that  which  Is  is  the  Reality  out 
of  which  universes  and  all  that  is  within  them  are  made. 

The  Spirit-Substance  which  is  God-Substance  was  un- 
manifest  when  the  Infinite  was  in  repose.  When  the  In- 
finite chose  to  achieve  it  for  a  change,  * '  The  One  became 
the  many. ' '  The  Infinite  expressed  through  the  forms  of 
its  different  degrees  of  expression,  according  to  the  nature 
of  each  and  the  place  they  were  to  fill  within  the  mani- 
fested desire.  With  the  reason,  if  not  with  spiritual 
insight,  it  can  be  shown  that  all  is  substantial,  because 
the  Substance  which  is  very  God  is  their  foundation,  their 

333 


334  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

overshadowing,  their  indwelling;  and  there  is  nothing 
else. 

This  is  God^s  creation  as  He  expressed  it  into  forms; 
and  every  form  is  pulsating  with  Infinite  Life. 

Then  we  see  a  living,  pulsating  creation,  all  of  God,  all 
in  God;  all  abiding  in  the  substance  which  is  the  Sub- 
stantiality of  God,  or  that  which  IS. 

The  Spiritual  creation  cannot  change.  They  of  it  can- 
not die;  they  cannot  disappear;  they  cannot  depart. 
Permanent  and  steadfast  is  God's  creation. 

It  is  well  for  the  student  and  devotee  to  dwell  here  in 
the  understanding  of  the  permanency  of  that  which  IS. 
From  his  deep  abiding  place  he  can  reach  out  through  the 
unsubstantial, — the  shadow  of  the  Real,— and,  with  vision 
clear,  speak  words  of  Light  which  will  consume  the 
shadows. 

God's  Spiritual  creation  is  the  Real,  the  True.  It  is 
the  Truth.  It  is  the  Light  in  which  no  shadow  dwells. 
From  whence,  then,  did  the  shadow  proceed  which  the 
awakened  man  finds  undesirable  ?  From  the  mind  which 
has  formed  in  man  as  he  looks  outward  and  away  from 
man's  own  center,  his  heart-center,  in  which  is  the  divin- 
ity of  each  and  every  man.  As  the  mind  looks  outward, 
it  sees  with  this  outward-looking  mind  the  shadows  cast 
by  itself  and  the  minds  of  all  who  have  passed  out  from 
Paradise  into  the  Garden  of  Eden  and  then  out  into  the 
world. 

How  did  the  shadows  first  become  apparent?  By  the 
Soul  as  it  dwelt  in  Paradise  desiring  a  change ;  or,  rather, 
by  the  Soul  using  that  inherent  quality  which  it  reflects 
from  the  Infinite,  being  in  *' God's  image  and  likeness." 
God,  as  we  have  said,  has  the  power  to  desire  a  change, 
and  when  He  so  desired  He  merged  into  expression  from 
His  unmanifest  state.  Man,  reflecting  God,  has  inherent 
within  him  this  power  to  choose  a  change ;  but  man,  being 
an  individual  expression  of  the  Infinite,  man's  expres- 
sions were  limited,  therefore  finite  and  carnal. 

When  man  began  to  see  his  expressions,  he  looked  so 


The  Substantiality  of  That  Which  IS      335 

intently  toward  them,  so  far  out  into  the  outer  formations 
of  the  shadows,  that  he  has  forgotten  his  center,  which  is 
his  Real  Spiritual  Self,  which  God  caused  to  become  man- 
ifest in  the  day  when  the  Infinite  manifested  in  the  form 
of  man. 

The  Substance  of  God  is  everywhere  present.  The  man 
whom  God  formed,  or  expressed,  is  abiding  in  the  Sub- 
stantiality of  God.  This  is  Reality,  and  can  be  thus  dis- 
cerned by  the  man  who  has  vision.  Here  is  where  immor- 
tality becomes  apparent  to  the  awakened  man. 

When  man  is  illumined  into  vision,  he  no  longer  sees 
the  shadows  which  compose  carnality,  but  he  visions 
through  them ;  and,  though  he  to  all  appearance  lives  in 
the  world  as  other  men,  he  is  in  reality  in  the  world  ' '  but 
not  of  it.*'  The  illusive  deceptions  of  the  shadows  no 
longer  have  any  power  to  deceive  him;  but  with  the  in- 
sight of  vision  he  can  stand  erect  and  do  as  Jesus  did 
when  He  was  tempted  by  these  same  shadows.  What  did 
Jesus  do  ?  He  said  to  the  tempter,  ' '  Get  thee  behind  me, 
Satan."  Jesus  did  this,  not  only  that  He  overcame  for 
Himself  alone,  but  that  each  man  after  He  is  mentally 
and  spiritually  awakened,  can  see  man  must  do  as  Jesus 
did, — arise  and  face  the  adversary,  Satan;  and,  with 
scientific  knowledge,  clear  understanding  and  vision, 
speak  to  the  Tempter  in  any  guise  in  which  he  may  pre* 
sent  himself, — speak  from  the  Christ- Consciousness  with- 
in him,  and  the  devil  will  disappear  into  the  unsubstan- 
tiality,  which  he  is. 

Christ  Jesus,  the  Saviour  of  the  world  and  the  way- 
shower,  stands  ever  ready  to  assist  all  who  call  upon 
Him ;  and  Jehovah,  God,  the  manifestation  of  the  Infinite 
and  the  ruling  sovereign  of  this  earth,  has  announced 
that  He  will  hear  the  prayer  of  the  awakened  ones  who 
ask  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  whom  we  recognize  as 
Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

Man  has  the  promise  of  Jehovah-God  that  He  will  hear 
and  answer  prayer,  when  spoken  in  that  name.     This 


336  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

promise  is  substantial  and  God  responds  to  the  prayer  of 
Faith,  voiced  in  that  name.  The  prayer  of  an  innocent 
child,  when  spoken  through  that  name,  is  answered. 

Then  Jesus  carries  the  teachings  further  for  the  indi- 
vidual who  is  spiritually  awake  and  desires  to  attain  unto 
the  real  Light.  When  this  is  done,  the  great  thing  is 
accomplished;  and  man  sees  that  he  is  at  home  in  his 
Father 's  House.  In  the  Reality,  the  Absoluteness  as  it  is, 
man  has  never  been  away  from  Home.  Only  his  mind 
conveyed  the  belief  that  he  was  separated  from  God. 

Then  we  would  announce  to  the  candidate  for  vision 
that  "Wisdom  would  say.  Stand  still  in  the  place  where 
you  are  and  continue  to  glean  the  grains  of  Truth  day 
by  day.  When  the  light  of  vision  comes  unto  your  mind, 
you  will  perceive  that  there  is  no  place  to  go,  as  you  are 
at  Home.  The  substantiality  of  that  which  is,  is  Home. 
This  substance,  which  is  very  God,  is  man 's  abiding  place. 
Even  when  man  is  burdened  with  the  cares  of  the  carnal 
life  and  is  tired  and  weary,  if  he  knew  the  Truth,  he 
would  rest  in  God;  yea,  he  would  ''be  still  and  know'' 
that  he  is  in  the  very  center  of  God. 

**And  God  said.  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  after 
our  likeness. ' ' — Gen.  1 :26. 

' '  So  God  created  man  in  His  own  image ;  in  the  image 
of  God  created  He  him,  male  and  female  created  He 
them.''— Gen.  1:27. 

When  man  awakens  to  the  Truth  of  his  Being,  as  he 
really  is,  and  of  his  abiding  place  as  it  is,  he  will  see  him- 
self a  manifestation  of  God.  What  is  God?  The  One 
Spirit-Substance,  which  is  everywhere  present.  Why  do 
we  report  that  this  Substance,  this  One  and  Only  Sub- 
tance,  is  Spirit  ?  Because,  Life  fills  it ;  Love,  Intelligence 
and  Harmony  fill  it.  These,  being  God  and  centered  in 
the  God-head,  necessarily  fill  all  space.  Then  we  per- 
ceive that  the  very  God-Substance  is  a  Living,  Loving, 
Intelligent,  Peaceful  and  Harmonious  Presence.  Man, 
being  an  individual  expression  of  that  same  presence, 
necessarily  must  be  the  same  substance,  as  this  is  the  only 


The  Substantiality  of  That  Which  IS      337 

substance  present;  therefore,  man's  body  (not  the  outer 
or  physical  mass,  which  is  the  shadow,  but  the  form  as 
God  formed  it)  is  of  the  same  Substance.  Then  man  can 
see  that  his  form  is  the  One  Substance,  which  is  the  body 
of  God;  then  man  is  Life  through  and  through.  Love 
through  and  through,  Peace,  intelligence  and  harmony 
through  and  through,  and  that  man  abides  in  the  center 
of  God.    This  is  the  Substantiality  of  that  which  IS. 

If  the  student  can  glean  the  realization  of  the  substan- 
tiality of  the  abiding  Presence,  of  which  he  is  an  individ- 
ualized manifestation  and  in  which  he  forever  abides,  he 
will  catch  again  the  bliss  which  he  enjoyed  when  he  dwelt 
in  the  paradisaical  state  of  the  true  and  original  concept 
of  himself. 

Restful  abiding!  Yes,  he  consciously  Is.  He  has 
learned  the  great  secret  which  is,  ''To  Be"  and  let  the 
Infinite  live  in  and  through  him,  breathe  in  and  through 
him,  act  in  and  through  him. 

There  necessarily  will  be  many  changes  take  place  in 
man  before  he  knows  the  Truth  sufficiently  clear  to  be- 
come wholly  free,  and  these  changes  in  his  mind  affect 
his  whole  being.  As  he  perceives  the  Spirit  side  of  the 
Infinite, — the  Great  Heart  in  which  he  abides, — ^his  heart 
responds  and  Love  for  God  and  his  fellow-man  becomes 
his  deepest  feeling,  and  when  his  spirit  nature  is  at-one 
with  the  Spirit  of  God,  his  heart  will  melt  into  ''Molten 
Gold"  and  merge  into  the  Infinite  Heart  and  vibrate  in 
rhythm  with  the  Heart  of  God  forever  and  ever. 

When  man  becomes  conscious  of  the  One  Life,  he  knows 
that  as  God  lives  he  lives. 

When  man  becomes  thoroughly  conscious  of  the  One- 
Mind,  the  God-Mind,  he  will  be  still  and  let  it  operate  in 
and  through  him. 

This  One-Mind  is  "all-knowing,  all-seeing  and  all- 
action."  When  man  knows  the  Truth,  should  he  desire 
knowledge  upon  any  subject,  he  will  let  the  God-Mind 
act  in  and  through  him  and  reveal  to  him  this  desired 
knowledge. 


338  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

How  does  man  bring  into  expression  this  desired 
knowledge  which  is  ever  in  the  God-Mind?  By  asking 
the  Father  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  that  it  thus 
express. 

It  is  well  to  call  attention  here  to  Jesus  Christ.  He  is 
the  perfect  expression  of  the  Infinite, — Our  Father,  in 
the  form  of  man,  which  is  ^  *  the  Crowning  Glory  of  God. ' ' 

Great  teachers  the  world  has  had,  many  of  them,  all 
moving  in  the  intelligence  of  God,  but  none  gave  and 
proved  by  example  the  precepts  of  their  teachings.  Jesus 
declared  and  proved  that  man,  if  he  knew  the  Truth, 
could  stand  forth  free  here  and  now. 

This  is  one  of  the  deep  notes  in  the  Message  of  Jesus 
of  Nazareth, — * '  Know  the  Truth  and  you  shall  be  free. ' ' 
Jesus  did  not  teach  death  or  encourage  it  in  any  way. 
Instead  of  taking  up  His  time  in  preaching  funerals,  He 
raised  the  dead;  and,  by  the  help  of  God,  He  brought 
forth  His  body  from  the  tomb  to  convince  the  awakened 
man  that  he,  through  ''knowing  the  Truth,"  can  over- 
come the  last  and  greatest  enemy  which  man  has.  If 
Jesus'  work  in  the  tomb  had  been  for  the  benefit  of  those 
on  the  other  side  of  that  river  which  seems  so  cold  to  the 
unawakened  man.  He  would  have  performed  His  works 
there  and  not  on  this  plane  of  expression. 

Jesus  proved  that  He  knew  the  Truth  by  showing  His 
freedom.  He  said  to  the  spiritually  awakened  man, 
' '  Follow  thou  me ! "  If  it  had  not  been  possible  for  man 
to  follow  Him,  the  Great  Teacher  would  not  have  thus 
spoken. 

There  is  such  a  sweet,  sublime  and  subtle  teaching  in 
the  Message  of  the  Nazarene,  that  it  has  remained  hidden 
away  from  the  unawakened  man — and  from  many  of  the 
awakened  also — but  some,  now  and  then  down  the  cen- 
turies, have  caught  the  tenderness  underlying  the  letter 
of  the  teachings  and  quietly  lived  their  spiritual  lives. 
The  world  may  not  have  known  of  them,  because  the 
general  followers  of  the  Christ-Teachings  have  been  these 
many  centuries  studying  and  teaching  the  letter  of  the 


The  Substantiality  of  That  Which  IS      339 

Message,  so  lost  to  the  Spiritual  Truth  (the  living  Truth 
contained  in  the  letter)  that  they  have  been  all  these  cen- 
turies commemorating  the  jieath  of  Jesus.  Christendom 
commemorates  in  gifts  of  outer  things  His  birth,  until  it 
has  almost  become  a  season  of  commercial  exchange  with 
nothing  of  the  Christ-spirit  in  it.  Only  one  now  and 
then — and  they,  many  times,  of  the  lowly  and  humble — 
have  caught  the  glorious  Light  of  the  great  Truth,  which 
will  be  born  in  the  consciousness  of  every  awakened  man 
ere  he  vision  that  he  is  a  Redeemed  Son  of  the  Living 
God. 

Easter,  which  symbolizes  the  resurrection,  they  touch 
lightly,  because  it  is  on  the  height  far  above  the  carnal 
concept  of  many  of  the  followers  of  Jesus. 

The  awakened  man,  the  one  to  whom  Jesus  spake  when 
He  said,  ''Ye  shall  know  the  Truth,  and  the  Truth  shall 
make  you  free,"  will  walk  direct  in  the  center  of  the 
Christ-Path.  He,  from  his  Christ-consciousness,  visions 
the  Absoluteness  and  Substantiality  of  that  which  Is  and 
understands  that  the  resurrection  and  the  ascension  must 
be  also  wrought  out  in  himself.  Man  being  thus  touched, 
he  will  desire  freedom  from  the  heaviness  and  crudeness 
of  the  carnal-man  vibration,  as  he  lives  in  the  human  life. 
The  letter  of  the  message  of  Jesus'  teachings  cannot 
assist  the  awakened  man,  because  he  desires  the  bread  of 
heaven,  which  is  * '  the  hidden  manna. ' ' 

For  man  to  hunger  for  and  partake  of  'Hhe  hidden 
manna,"  he  must  be  born  again,  born  into  the  spirit- 
concept.  When  so  born  it  is  only  spiritual  bread  he  de- 
sires. Before  man  awoke,  it  was  only  the  outer  man 
who  was  conscious  and  he  required  only  the  food  which 
sustains  the  body.  It  was  the  man  who  was  asleep  in  the 
Adam-Dream,  who  had  partaken  of  the  Fruit  of  the  Tree 
which  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  Garden,  that  the  com- 
mand was  given  to  earn  his  bread  by  the  sweat  of  his 
brow.  It  is  plain,  indeed,  that  man,  when  he  comes 
under  the  illusive  spell  of  the  carnal  illusion,  the  serpent 
which  beguiles,  has  heavy  vibrations,  requiring  heavy 


340  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

food;  and  he,  having  strayed  into  the  world  of  experi- 
ence, must  earn  his  bread  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow ;  and 
woman,  the  negative  part  of  man,  must  bring  forth  chil- 
dren in  pain  and  sorrow. 

This  was  the  blight  that  came  upon  men  when  they 
had  turned  far  enough  away  from  the  center  of  their  own 
being  to  partake  of  the  Fruit  of  the  Tree  of  Knowledge 
of  Good  and  Evil. 

Then,  for  man  to  become  forever  cleansed  and  freed 
from  that  blight  which  he  himself,  in  his  masculine  and 
feminine  aspect,  permitted  to  come  over  him,  he  must 
**Know  the  Truth." 

If  a  tree  is  covered  with  blight,  in  order  that  the  per- 
fect tree  may  express  perfectly,  the  blight  must  be  re- 
moved. If  it  could  be  done  at  one  grand  sweep,  it  were 
well;  but,  most  likely,  it  will  be  removed  by  a  process 
which  requires  working  out  day  by  day ;  but  do  not  for- 
get that  the  tree  stands  in  its  wholeness,  its  completeness, 
all  the  time  until  the  blight  is  entirely  removed  and  the 
perfect  tree  becomes  manifest.    So  it  is  with  man. 

Let  the  awakened  student  ever  keep  his  eye  upon  the 
perfect  man, — ^he  whom  God  expressed  into  form  at  the 
dawn  and  who  forever  remains  perfect,  it  matters  not 
what  the  appearance  may  be  which  presents  itself  as 
blight.  This  is  the  Substantiality  of  man,  and  is  the 
foundation  upon  which  the  awakened  man  stands.  No 
winds  of  adversity  will  shake  him,  no  storms  of  the  senses 
overcome  him,  because  he  is  anchored  in  the  Substan- 
tiality of  that  which  Is.  With  this  understanding  which 
knows  the  Truth,  he  visions  any  blight  which  may  encase 
the  outer  man,  into  its  own  element,  which  is  no-thing 
and  no-where.  "When  the  illumined  man  visions  the 
blight  into  no-thing,  what  does  he  see  ?  The  perfect  man 
in  expression. 

The  man  was  perfect  when  he  was  encased  with  the 
debris  of  earth, — the  shadow,  the  carnal  illusion ;  but  he 
was  not  expressing  his  perfection.  He  was  limited,  being 
in  the  encasement  of  the  illusion ;  but,  when  these  carnal, 


The  Substantiality  of  That  Which  IS      341 

blighting  illusions  are  removed,  he  expresses  himself  as 
God  formed  him ;  and  that  was  perfect. 

It  matters  not  how  severe  the  storms  which  may  over- 
take man ; — even  while  he  is  sound  asleep  in  the  Adam- 
Sleep,  the  Real  man  is  never  touched  nor  disturbed ;  he 
only  remains  invisible  to  the  outer  consciousness  of  man. 

As  long  as  man  lives  in  his  natural  state,  he  does  not 
know  that  there  is  a  higher  and  better  part  of  himself; 
but,  when  he  awakens,  he  learns  this ;  and,  if  he  is  thor- 
oughly awakened,  he  will  endeavor  to  search  out  and  to 
know  concerning  the  higher  part  of  himself. 

The  perfect  man  is  in  every  one,  but  it  requires  much 
washing  by  denials  and  polishing  by  affirmations  of 
Truth,  before  his  mind  becomes  transparent  enough  for 
the  Truth  of  himself,  God  and  the  Universe  to  be  revealed 
to  him,  transforming  his  outer  self. 

Let  the  student  who  desires  freedom,  full  and  com- 
plete, consciously  and  understandingly  stand  with  the 
realization  of  the  reality  and  perfection  of  his  own  being, 
in  the  Reality  and  Substantiality  of  that  which  Is.  That 
which  Is,  is  God,  and  who  abides  in  God  abides  in  a  sub- 
stantial place,  surrounded  by  Substantiality.  From  that 
foundation  he  meets  every  problem  which  presents  itself 
to  him,  either  within  himself  or  within  his  world,  and 
masters  it,  remembering  always  that  God,  when  He 
formed  man,  gave  man  dominion.  From  that  place  of 
abiding  man  is  to  overcome  everything  that  he  encoun- 
ters upon  his  path  which  is  not  like  God,  remembering 
that  God  and  God-manifest  is  all  there  is  in  reality  or  in 
the  Substantiality  of  that  which  Is. 

When  man  arrives  at  the  place  upon  his  Path  where 
he  is  sufficiently  awakened  to  catch  the  tender  sweetness 
in  Jesus'  Message  that  will  enable  him  to  perceive  man 
has  within  him  that  dominion  with  which  God  endued 
him,  and  begins  to  use  it  to  subdue  his  enemies  which  are 
within  himself  (and  these  are  his  sense-evidence),  he  is 
moving  toward  mastership. 


342  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

When  the  sense-evideuce  is  understandiugly  removed, 
the  old  man  has  been  nailed  to  the  cross  and  the  new  man 
in  Christ  becomes  manifest. 

"When  man  fully  realizes  that  the  foundation  upon 
which  he  stands  is  solid,  sure  and  steadfast,  unchange- 
able and  Eternal,  and  that  this  Presence  in  which  he 
lives,  moves  and  has  his  being  is  really  a  Living,  Loving 
and  Tender  Presence,  he  will,  when  he  requires  assist- 
ance to  master  any  experience  he  meets  upon  the  path, 
softly  whisper  or  silently  speak  a  prayer  into  the  ear  of 
this  Ever-Presence,  and  his  prayer  will  be  answered, 
even  as  Jesus  said,  speaking  to  His  disciples,  the  awak- 
ened man,  ''Ask  what  ye  will  in  my  name,  and  it  will 
be  done/' 

The  Father  has  promised  to  answer  the  prayers  which 
are  uttered  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ. 

When  the  student-devotee  desires  the  good  to  become 
manifest  in  any  form  for  his  or  his  fellow-man's  help,  he 
will  ask  the  assistance  of  the  Father  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

God  is  just  as  able  today  to,  in  His  Scientific  Law  of 
Action,  cause  Himself  to  become  manifest  through  the 
illusions  of  the  carnal  man,  as  He  was  able  to  become 
manifest  in  His  Creation  at  the  dawn  of  the  day  when 
man  became  an  individualized  manifestation  of  the  Being 
which  Is.  This  Being  is  the  Substantiality  of  that  which 
Is,— "The  All  in  All." 


CHAPTER  XXV 
THE    SOUL. 

THERE  is  beauty  and  grandeur  in  the  silent  cham- 
ber of  the  Soul;  the  variegated  colors  of  the  Infi- 
nite blend  there  and  focus  at  one  point — the 
Flame — which  is  the  individual  flame  of  the  Great  Fire, 
God  who  ''is  a  consuming  Fire.'' 

Down  in  the  depth  of  the  Soul — the  heart-center — is 
the  place  to  abide  and  there  commune  with  God. 

The  Infinite  fills  all  space,  and  there  is  no  place  where 
God  is  not. 

Since  God  is  a  consuming  fire,  Reason  says:  this  fire 
will  finally  consume  the  dross  which  has  accumulated 
around  each  one  as  they  have  moved  along  through  the 
earth's  experiences;  just  as  the  ceaseless  action  in  the 
ocean  purifies  the  dross  and  impurities  cast  therein. 

The  Soul  is  the  Conscious  Life  of  Man  and  the  flame 
in  the  heart  is  the  point  where  the  Individualized  Life 
is  connected  with  the  Infinite  Life  and  is  as  inseparable 
from  the  Life  of  God  as  the  ray  is  from  the  sun.  The  ray 
could  not  exist  for  an  instant  were  it  disconnected  from 
the  sun ;  neither  could  man  remain  an  individualized  life 
if  it  were  disjoined  from  the  Infinite  Life.  As  this  can- 
not be,  we  see  that  the  Infinite  Life  flows  perpetually 
into  this  individualized  life,  at  the  Soul-center,  the  heart, 
and  on  through  the  channels  of  life,  the  blood  veins.  In 
the  physical  man  these  conduits  for  the  blood  to  circulate 
through  are  called  veins,  and  the  physical  man  says  that 
the  health  depends  upon  the  condition  of  the  circulation 
of  the  blood. 

343 


344  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Into  the  real  body,  the  Spirit  Body,  the  form  which 
God  created  perfect,  Life  flows  from  the  Heart  of  the 
Infinite,  with  which  the  life  of  the  individual  is  ever 
at-one. 

The  Soul,  then,  is  the  Conscious  Life  of  man,  and  in 
the  Soul  of  man  is  enfolded  the  memories  of  the  ages 
which  have  rolled  by  since  Conscious-Life  became  indi- 
vidualized. 

It  is  the  province  of  man,  when  he  reaches  a  certain 
period  in  his  ongoings  toward  redemption,  to  learn  how 
to  enter  the  sacred  precinct  of  his  Soul  and  there,  in  deep 
serenity,  in  Faith  and  Love,  go  deep  in  inner  conscious- 
ness until  he  has  touched  the  border  line  of  the  Infinite, 
and  there  in  realization  stand  face  to  face  with  the  Being 
which  IS. 

"When  man  approaches  God  thus,  where  he  can  con- 
sciously stand  in  the  Flame  of  the  Soul  (Soul- Conscious- 
ness) and  commune  face  to  face  with  God,  ''Who  is  a  con- 
suming Fire,*'  all  the  dross  will  be  burned  away  from 
him,  all  his  carnal  concept  of  himself ;  and,  lo !  the  perfect 
man  is  visible!  All  traces  of  time,  disease  and  death 
have  been  burned  up  in  the  pure  fire  of  God-Being. 

What  is  this  in  man  which  enters  the  Sacred  Precinct 
of  the  Soul  and  goes  deep  until  it  sees  where  the  individ- 
ualized flame  is  connected  with  the  Infinite  Fire? 

It  is  the  Ego.  Some  may  ask.  What  is  the  Ego  ?  It  is 
the  individualized  God-Mind,  the  Super-conscious  man. 

God  caused  the  individualized  Divine-Mind  to  become 
manifest  and  that  manifestation  is  the  Ego,  the  Real  Self 
of  the  man.  Then  He  gave  this  individuality  Soul- 
Consciousness,  which  is  Conscious-Life ;  then  God  clothed 
these  with  a  form  of  Spirit  born  out  of  the  One  Sub- 
stance,— ^the  Universal-Divine-Essence. 

All  of  God's  work  proceeds  in  order,  wisdom  and  care. 
"When  man  became  individualized  he  was  in  the  Divine 
Law  and  the  Laws  thence  proceeding ;  and  they  in  him. 
These  Laws  are  the  ceaseless  action  of  Life  Eternal  in 
the  body  of  man  as  well  as  in  his  Soul. 


The  Soul  345 

The  thinking  and  aroused  ones  today,  when  they  begin 
to  take  a  survey  of  themselves,  discover  that  they  have  a 
conscious  mind  and  sub-conscious  mind;  that  they  are 
conscious  of  the  food  they  eat,  but  are  not  conscious  of 
the  digestion  and  assimilation  of  that  food  for  the  up- 
building of  the  different  parts  of  the  body,  keeping  it 
renewed ;  but  above  these  is  the  super-conscious,  the  God- 
Mind, — the  Ego. 

When  man  has  reached  the  time  for  his  final  awaken- 
ing, the  Kedemption  (and  men  attain  unto  this  only  as 
they  reach  the  ripening  time  in  their  ongoing)  where 
man  has  learned  that  the  delusions  of  the  carnal  mind 
are  false  and  that  the  carnal  mind  is  the  ' '  father  of  lies, ' ' 
he  can  renounce  the  lies,  the  father  of  lies  and  bring  the 
objective  conscious  mind  into  unity  with  itself,  merging 
it  into  the  God-Mind  of  itself,  the  only  real  mind  the 
man  has  ever  had,  as  the  other  was  composed  of  illusions. 
Then  this  true  mind  goes  deep  into  the  Soul  until  the 
Soul  reveals  to  the  conscious  mind  the  memories  which  it 
contains,  and  there  in  the  depth  of  the  Soul,  the  Flame, 
the  Ego,  bursts  its  bounds  and  is  at-one-ment  with  the 
Infinite.  It  there  stands  face  to  face  with  the  Eternal 
Being  which  IS;  and  in  full  consciousness  of  Soul  has 
revealed  to  it  all  the  records  which  have  been  written 
upon  the  tablet  of  the  Soul's  memory. 

The  Ego  then  sees  its  perfect  form,  just  as  it  was  when 
God  clothed  the  Ego  and  Soul- Consciousness  therewith; 
and  grace  and  beauty  adorn  it  as  of  ages  ago. 

This  Ego  has  now  reached  the  period  of  perfection  and 
the  next  step  onward  is  the  uniting  of  the  Conscious  Life 
and  the  Form  in  holy  wedlock.  There  in  the  sanctuary 
of  the  Flame,  the  Heart,  the  Ego  stands  face  to  face  with 
God,  ''The  Consuming  Fire."  Here  it  understandingly 
stands  until  all  dross  is  consumed.  Then  the  Ego,  the 
super-conscious  mind,  which  is  the  God-Mind  individual- 
ized, the  Soul,  the  Conscious-Life,  and  the  form,  the  pure 
Spirit-Essence  body,  are  united  in  holy  Wedlock;  and. 


346  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

lo !  man  stands  Redeemed, — Redeemed  in  Body,  Mind  and 
Consciousness,  a  perfect  Being, — God-manifest. 

It  is  then  that  the  Father  comes  to  meet  him  and  places 
a  ring  upon  his  hand, — the  ring,  a  symbol  of  Eternal 
union  of  the  Father  and  the  Son,  sealing  him  with  the 
seal  of  Sonship,  never  to  be  violated  nor  destroyed. 

Man  has  much  work  to  do  with  himself  from  the  time 
he  first  awakens  until  he  stands  forth  a  *  *  glorified  Son  of 
the  Living  God.** 

Prayer,  Devotion,  Concentration  and  Meditation  are 
the  helpful  and  achieving  means  used  in  the  effort  to 
reach  this  attainment. 


CHAPTEE  XXVI 

HEALING   INSTRUCTIONS. 

IN  the  preceding  chapters  we  have  endeavored  to  bring 
so  clearly  before  the  Spiritually  and  intellectually 
awakened  man  the  reality  and  substantiality  of  the 
nearness  of  the  Infinite,  our  Father,  that  man  can  know 
when  he  whispers  his  prayers  that  they  at  once  reach  the 
ear  of  the  Infinite,  and  He,  being  everywhere  present,  can 
touch  any  manifestation  of  His  Being;  it  matters  not 
upon  which  string  of  the  Infinite  Harp  they  are  attuned ; 
and  this  can  be  done  instantly,  because  there  is  no  sep- 
aration in  God,  no  space  and  no  time. 

Man*s  faith  can  be  so  strong  in  God  and  in  His  ability 
to  answer  prayers,  that  his  prayer  reaches  the  ear  of  the 
Father,  receiving  instant  and  full  answer. 

Faith  is  necessary  and  believing  is  necessary;  and  it 
has  been  through  and  by  faith  that  the  Christ-message 
has  been  held  in  the  churches  of  Christendom  for  these 
many  centuries;  but  there  comes  a  time  when  faith 
merges  into  knowing  and  knowing  into  vision.  The  man 
of  full  vision  is  the  one  who  has  grown  into  the  stature 
of  the  Christ-man,  in  Christ  Jesus.  Faith  and  under- 
standing united  is  the  place  where  the  man  who  so  desires 
can  be  of  assistance  in  healing  others,  or  himself. 

It  is  well  for  the  reader  to  bear  in  mind,  as  he  reads 
the  instructions  for  the  healing  of  disease  and  bringing 
into  expression  the  perfect,  that  Truth  is  ever  taught  in 
paradox.  While  we,  in  the  foregoing  chapters,  brought 
to  light  the  reality,  substantiality  and  unchangeableness 
of  God  and  the  omnipresence  of  that  which  IS,  we,  in  this 

347 


348  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

chapter,  will  deal  with  the  removing,  or  reducing  into 
their  native  place,  the  illusions  in  the  carnal  mind  and 
their  shadows, — disease  and  pain  in  the  body. 

If  disease  were  a  real  and  permanent  thing,  it  would 
have  been  created  by  God,  and  we  announce  that  it  was 
not,  because  God  pronounced  His  creation  good,  and  very 
good,  and  we  do  know  that  there  is  not,  nor  can  there  be, 
good  in  disease.  Therefore,  we  place  it  in  the  illusion. 
Very  real  indeed  these  shadows  and  illusions  are  to  all 
men,  even  after  they  awake;  and  it  requires  earnest  de- 
sire and  effort  on  the  part  of  the  awakened  man,  that  he 
may  become  a  master  over  the  sense-mind,  which  is  filled 
with  the  beliefs  which  form  the  whole  web  of  carnality. 

What  are  some  of  the  beliefs  which  fill  important 
places  in  the  carnal  mind  ? 

First :  That  man  was  born  an  infant,  that  he  grew  to 
manhood  and  to  old  age,  that  death  overtakes  him  and  he 
passes  out  into  the  great  unknown  with  his  fate  sealed, 
no  hope  beyond  the  grave,  no  deliverance  from  bondage 
of  evil, — from  the  slavery  of  illusion. 

Second :  That  man  is  subject  to  disease  and  has  noth- 
ing to  free  him  from  pain  and  sickness  but  the  doctors 
and  their  medicines.  As  long  as  man  knows  not  that  God 
heals  the  sick,  he  is  dependent  upon  the  doctors  and  their 
remedies.  The  doctors  are  a  blessing  to  humanity  and 
should  be  thus  considered  by  all  student- devotees,  as  they 
are  by  the  man  of  vision ;  but,  when  man  awakens  to  the 
grand  verities  of  his  being  and  to  the  knowledge  and 
understanding  of  the  Omnipotence  and  Omnipresence  of 
God,  he  learns  that  he  can  gain  understanding  which  will 
enable  him  to  overcome  disease  in  his  own  body  and  in 
the  bodies  of  others.  As  man  gains  this  knowledge,  he 
leaves  medicine  behind  for  himself,  but  with  no  con- 
demnation in  his  mind  for  others  who  think  differently, 
for  medicine  is  a  blessing  to  those  who  believe  in  it  and 
have  faith  in  the  physician ;  and,  as  no  man  should  con- 
demn the  stones  upon  which  he  trod  in  crossing  the 


Healing  Instructions  349 

stream,  neither  should  any  student  condemn  either  medi- 
cine or  physician.  They,  like  the  stones,  are  good  and  a 
great  blessing  in  their  place. 

Thus  it  can  be  seen  that  the  man  who  has  scaled  the 
heights  of  Vision  has  arisen  above  the  mists  of  the  earth. 
He,  therefore,  has  a  mind  and  heart  filled  with  gratitude, 
and  will,  as  he  looks  back  over  his  Path  with  a  heart  of 
Love,  return  thanks  to  the  Infinite  for  every  stone  upon 
which  he  trod  in  crossing  from  the  carnal  concept  to  the 
Divine  Reality.  Every  book,  leaflet  and  each  and  every 
teacher  who  has  been  blessed  with  patience  to  gently  lead 
him  along  the  Path  until  he  knows  the  Truth  sufficiently 
clear  to  walk  alone,  has  his  gratefulness.  Gratitude  is  the 
one  abiding  presence  in  the  heart  of  the  student-devotee 
who  has  vision. 

In  these  healing  instructions  we  will  emphasize  the 
great  Truth,  that,  if  man  desires  to  come  into  under- 
standing and  knowledge  which  will  burst  into  vision,  all 
obstructions  must  be  removed  from  his  Path,  and  the 
great  stone  which  must  be  removed  from  the  door  of  the 
tomb  is  selfishness.  The  whole  stone  of  selfishness  must 
be  removed,  not  a  vestige  left,  before  man  can  step  forth 
from  the  tomb  of  carnality,  an  awakened  and  redeemed 
Soul. 

Some  will  ask,  How  can  this  stone  of  selfishness  be  re- 
moved? By  the  washing  process  of  denials  of  their 
reality  and  power,  until  the  selfish  desires  are  removed 
from  the  mind.  Then  comes  the  garnishing,  which  is 
accomplished  by  affirming  the  Truth  of  man's  being  in 
God.  When  man's  mind  is  thus  emptied,  swept  and  gar- 
nished, he  will  then  stay  his  clear  mind  upon  God,  it 
becoming  filled  with  Truth  and  Good,  and  the  result  will 
be  that  the  perfect  will  come  into  expression ;  ' '  It  is  God 
who  ever  giveth  the  increase. ' ' 

If  man  awakens  to  the  greatness  that  is  in  the  message 
of  Truth  and  its  working  principles  and  sets  about  to 
study  that  message  that  he  may  use  it  for  selfish  purposes, 
he  lacks  understanding  of  the   great   Truth  and   but 


350  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

plunges  himself  farther  into  the  gloom  and  darkness  of 
destroying  selfishness. 

When  man  is  afilieted  in  body,  mind  or  environments, 
he  should  set  about  at  once  to  put  scientific  knowledge 
into  operation  in  his  consciousness,  which  will  place  him 
en  rapport  with  the  Eternal  God,  in  Whom  there  is  no 
disease,  pain  nor  death. 

When  man  is  healed  through  God  Almighty,  it  matters 
not  by  what  method  of  prayer  it  is  brought  about.  He 
should,  from  a  heart  filled  with  gratitude,  return  thanks 
to  God ;  and  give  grateful  appreciation  to  the  instrument 
who  has  been  used  by  God  in  bringing  about  his  healing. 
If  man  has  given  enough  time  to  the  study  of  the  great 
message  of  Truth  and  has  renounced  the  world,  that  he 
may  live  close  enough  to  God  to  be  a  sufficiently  attuned 
instrument  for  God  to  use  his  spoken  prayer  to  bring  into 
expression  the  Perfect  which  ever  abides  just  back  of  the 
imperfect,  this  one  necessarily  must  give  his  time  to  this 
work  and  those  who  come  to  him  for  Spiritual  instruc- 
tions and  healing  should  remunerate  him  freely,  so  that 
he  has  not  to  take  anxious  thought  concerning  his  liveli- 
hood. As  all  men  in  all  grades  of  life  require  a  living, 
so  the  Spiritual  Teacher,  also,  must  meet  the  demands 
required  for  his  livelihood. 

Let  none  think,  when  they  touch  the  great  Law,  even 
though  it  is  invisible,  that  they  can  gain  something  and 
give  nothing  in  return,  for  this  Law  is  very  exacting  and 
it  is  God's  Law,  that  man  receives  as  he  gives.  Then  self- 
ishness is  among  the  first  stones  to  be  removed  from  the 
earnest  student 's  mind  and  heart. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  instrument  in  healing, — the 
teacher, — should  simply  be  in  the  field  of  Spiritual  work 
for  the  reward  it  brings,  his  premise  is  selfishness  and  he, 
too,  will  find  that  a  great  stone  must  be  removed  from  his 
path  before  he  reaps  the  reward  of  the  fully  Spiritually 
awakened  one,  who,  without  thought  of  reward,  will  work 
through  the  day  and  the  long  night  in  his  efforts  to  assist 
his  fellow-man,  his  brothers  in  humanity,  into  a  better 


Healing  Instructions  351 

understanding  of  the  Truth  of  their  Being  and  their  rela- 
tion to  God.  To  be  instrumental  in  healing  the  afflic- 
tions of  others,  he  is  so  filled  with  the  Love  of  God 
and  is  in  such  deep  expression  of  it  toward  his  fellow- 
man,  that  he  thinks  little  about  his  outer  or  financial 
affairs;  therefore,  those  who  are  so  favored  as  to  be  his 
students  or  have  his  assistance  in  healing  should  see  that 
he  has  his  daily  needs  supplied,  and  they  should  be 
abundantly  supplied  to  be  in  accordance  with  the  efforts 
which  he  has  put  forth. 

Man,  as  long  as  he  is  under  the  illusion  of  the  carnal 
man,  will  most  likely  require  assistance  once  in  a  while 
as  he  moves  along  upon  the  Path.  This  is  nothing  to  be 
ashamed  of  by  the  student  and  it  is  well  to  ask  for  assist- 
ance, if  one  cannot  arise  a  master  over  undesirable  con- 
ditions, seeing  that  it  is  time  wasted  for  a  student  to 
remain  in  affliction,  discord  and  lack  of  harmony.  A 
pupil  in  music,  who  has  only  studied  a  short  time,  may 
strike  discordant  notes;  but,  when  he  really  desires  to 
know  how  to  strike  the  notes  of  harmony,  he  will  appeal 
to  the  Professor.    Just  so  the  student  of  Truth  can  do. 

The  fetters  will  fall  from  the  student  who  starts  in 
search  of  the  Truth  with  perseverence,  positiveness  and 
determination  to  ''Know  the  Truth,  the  Whole  Truth 
and  nothing  but  the  Truth."  If  man  is  healed  as  the 
first  flash  of  the  great  Light  touches  him,  let  him  rejoice 
with  gratitude  in  his  heart,  and  this  is  to  be  expressed  in 
praise  to  God  and  in  appreciation  of  the  teacher  who  has 
assisted ;  but,  should  it  require  a  long  time  to  bring  about 
the  manifestation  of  perfect  health  in  the  body,  even  then 
be  thankful,  because  you  have  the  privilege  of  coming 
many  times  into  the  presence  of  the  Teacher  and  of  learn- 
ing the  great  Truth  more  clearly  than  you  otherwise 
might  have  done.  Count  not  the  length  of  time,  neither 
the  cost,  in  attaining  unto  the  understanding  of  the 
Truth ;  because  it  is  the  pearl  of  vast  value  and  the  one 
thing  needful  before  man  can  become  forever  free  from 
the  carnal  sleep. 


352  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Let  the  student  look  deeply  and  understandingly  into 
the  substantiality  of  that  which  is  and  into  the  Omnipo- 
tence, Omnipresence  and  Omniscience  of  God,  that  he 
may  know  that  this  Presence  is  our  loving,  tender 
Father-Mother-God,  in  whose  presence  man  can  rest  and 
where  fear  cannot  enter. 

Let  the  student,  with  his  mind  and  heart  filled  with 
gratitude  and  Love,  consciously  enter  the  silence  of  this 
great  Presence  and  peacefully  abide  there  in  under- 
standing; and  all  fear  will  vanish  from  the  mind  and 
disease  from  the  body;  as  these  cannot  remain  in  the 
conscious  presence  of  the  Reality  of  Being.  Being  is  God, 
and  man  is  the  manifestation  of  Being. 

Let  the  student  arise  and  with  the  Eye  of  Vision  con- 
sume all  dis-ease  of  every  name  and  nature;  and  then, 
remember  that  he  is  ever  at  Home  in  his  Father  *s  House, 
which  is  Harmony,  Peace  and  Love, — and  these  express 
in  Divine-Satisfaction. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

DIVINE  SATISFACTION. 

MAN  is  ever  in  quest  of  something,  and  many  and 
varied  are  the  avenues  through  which  he  seeks 
for  that  something,  which  he  calls  by  different 
names  while  he  lives  in  the  carnal  dream ;  and  they,  like 
phantoms,  are  ever  illusions;  or,  if  overtaken,  crumble 
to  dust  and  are  as  ashes  in  his  hand,  containing  not  the 
power  to  give  satisfaction,  which  he  confidently  expected 
they  would  give  him. 

Divine  Satisfaction  is  as  a  will-o'-the-wisp,  ever  illu- 
sive to  the  carnal  mind.  However,  the  man  who  is  still 
asleep  in  carnality  feels  the  inner  urge  of  the  Soul,  which 
craves  the  satisfaction  which  is  divine ;  and  the  awaken- 
ing man,  feeling  this  urge,  understands  it  not  and  seeks 
in  the  different  avenues,  open  to  the  carnal  man,  to  en- 
deavor to  satisfy  this  call.  Very  many  times  this  failure 
to  gain  satisfaction  in  the  avenues  of  earthly  things  and 
ways  brings  about  such  a  shock  that  it  causes  man  to 
face  about  and  look  in  another  direction. 

When  man  has  awakened  from  carnality,  he  will  per- 
ceive that  he  has  turned  toward  the  Living  God  and  that, 
if  man  keeps  his  face  faithfully  in  that  direction,  he  will 
gain  satisfaction;  because,  even  one  grain  of  Truth  is 
ladened  with  satisfaction,  and  a  few  grains  combined  will 
bring  contentment  into  the  mind  and  heart  and,  instead 
of  restlessness  and  unstability,  contentment  and  stability 
will  become  manifest  in  the  mind.  When  a  few  more 
grains  of  Truth  are  added,  man  no  longer  depends  upon 
friends,  acquaintances  or  relatives  for  happiness,  because 

353 


354  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

he  has  learned  to  stay  his  mind  and  heart  upon  God  and 
to  trustingly  abide  in  His  presence,  when  his  mind  be- 
comes so  filled  with  contentment  that  he  cares  not  for  the 
company  of  the  people  of  earthly  desires,  but  only  for 
those  who,  like  himself,  are  seeking  that  one  thing, — 
Divine  Satisfaction. 

When  man's  mind  is  scientifically  stayed  upon  God  by 
entering  into  the  Silence  of  God  and  with  Love  abiding 
in  that  Secret  place  of  the  Most  High,  he  will  begin  to 
perceive  what  Divine  Satisfaction  really  is.  Then  the 
wise  student  will  continue  each  day, — for  a  few  moments, 
at  least, — to  understandingly  abide  in  that  secret  still- 
ness of  the  Infinite  Father,  that  he  may  become  conscious 
of  the  satisfaction  which  expresses  in  contentment.  He 
then  learns  that  the  outer  things  of  earth,  be  they  gold  or 
fame,  do  not  give  contentment ;  and  without  contentment 
there  can  be  no  satisfaction.  Therefore,  when  man 
catches  a  glimpse  of  satisfaction  while  tarrying  in  the 
Secret  Chamber  of  the  Infinite  which  out-pictures  in  con- 
tentment, he,  being  urged  on  by  the  inner  impulse  of  the 
Soul,  will  continue  to  seek  and  to  feed,  day  by  day,  upon 
the  ' '  hidden  manna, ' '  which  will  satisfy  the  Soul-hunger, 
when  once  man  has  tasted  of  its  sweet  and  peaceful 
Presence. 

Divine  satisfaction  is  an  abiding  consciousness  of  peace 
within  man's  own  Being.  When  man's  mind  is  filled 
with  peace,  love,  harmony  and  contentment,  he  has  Di- 
vine Satisfaction.  This  is  a  state  of  conscious  recognition 
and  realization  within  man,  and  not  a  place  afar  in  the 
skies.  Jesus  Christ  said,  ''Say  not,  lo,  here  it  is,  neither 
there,  for  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  within  you. ' '  Jesus 
also  said  that  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  not  gained  by 
observation.  Observation  is  looking  outward,  and  around 
and  about.  Jesus  plainly  located  the  center  of  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven  for  each  man.  Remember,  Jesus  was 
speaking  to  the  individual  who  was  awake  and  acting, 
and  taught  man  at  this  stage  of  concept  to  turn  his  mind 
within,  where  is  the  abiding  place  of  the  Kingdom  of 


Divine  Satisfaction  355 

Heaven,  which  is  Divine  Satisfaction.  This  is  for  every 
man,  as  one  by  one  man  awakens  from  the  carnal  concept 
of  himself.  When  he  does  awaken,  he  discovers  that  he 
is  a  prodigal  son  in  a  far  country  and  his  food  but  the 
husks  the  swine  feed  upon.  Even  though  he  has  the  very 
best  the  earth  affords,  it  is  still  husks ;  and  swine,  which 
symbolize  the  selfish,  carnal  nature  of  the  carnal  man, 
feed  upon  it. 

When  the  prodigal  son,  spoken  of  by  Jesus  in  His  par- 
able, awoke  to  the  fact  that  he  was  a  servant  feeding  the 
swine  in  a  far  country,  he  began  to  reason  and  he  said 
something  similar  to  this:  "Here  I  am,  a  son  of  my 
Father"  (he  then  remembered  who  he  was,  also  his  in- 
heritance), *'a  servant  in  a  strange  land  and  hungry; 
yes,  so  hungry  that  I  fain  would  eat  the  husks  the  swine 
feed  on. ' '  In  this  awakened  state,  he  determined  to  act. 
He  said,  **I  will  arise!  and  go  to  my  Father;  in  His 
House  even  the  servants  have  plenty  of  food." 

When  man  first  awakens  and  perceives  that  the  things 
of  the  outer,  carnal  world  do  not  satisfy,  neither  bring 
contentment  nor  peace,  nor  abiding  happiness,  but  only 
pleasures  which,  at  the  best,  are  fleeting  and  ever  illusive, 
he  will  turn  toward  his  Father  and  his  Father's  House. 
At  the  awakening,  man  believes  himself  to  be  separated 
from  the  Father  and  His  House,  or  Home. 

When  man  arises  and  starts  to  return  Home,  we  see  by 
Jesus'  parable  that  he  has  his  mind  stayed  upon  God,  the 
Father-Mother,  and  his  heart 's  desire  upon  Home.  Jesus 
taught  that  the  man  was  two-fold  awake  when  he  really 
arose  and  started  toward  the  Father  and  Home.  His 
mind  and  heart  are  both  in  action.  The  Spiritual  man, 
when  awakened,  desires  to  become  free  from  the  old  con- 
dition. Let  the  awakened  man  with  his  reason  follow 
this  parable  of  Jesus  and  perceive  that  he  himself  is  the 
prodigal  son;  because,  as  all  men  were  in  Paradise  (at 
Home  in  the  Father's  House)  and  all  men  passed  out 
from  that  concept  into  the  Garden  of  Eden,  then  out  into 


356  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

the  world  where  man  became  lost  in  the  maze  of  the  illu- 
sive shadows  which  form  and  compose  carnality,  so  every 
man  is  the  prodigal  son  and  when  he  awakens  as  the  man 
in  the  parable  did  he  will  start  upon  his  homeward 
journey. 

Man,  with  his  mind  filled  with  the  false  beliefs  of  the 
carnal  man,  believes  that  a  distance  exists  between  him- 
self and  his  Father  and  his  Father's  House,  and  he  says, 
' '  I  will  arise  and  return. ' '  He,  having  spent  of  the  sub- 
stance his  Father  had  given  him  ''in  riotous  living,'* 
when  he  awoke  found  himself  a  servant  amidst  the  swine, 
and  feeding  them.  He  then  examined  himself  and  ex- 
claimed, ''I  am  hungry."  He  was  so  touched  when  he 
awoke  that  humility  came  into  his  mind  and  heart  and  he 
said,  *'I  will  be  a  servant  in  my  Father's  House,  for  even 
the  servants  have  sufficient  to  eat. ' '  Then  the  awakened 
man  arose  and  started  on  the  homeward  journey  with  his 
mind  stayed  upon  his  Father  and  his  heart  filled  with 
the  spiritual  desire  to  be  at  home, — and  he  was  clothed  in 
humility. 

The  Father  saw  him  coming  from  afar  off  and  came  to 
meet  him  and  rejoiced  that  ''His  Son,  who  was  lost,  is 
found."  He  had  returned  Home.  Then  the  Father 
caused  a  robe  to  be  put  upon  him  and  placed  a  ring  upon 
his  hand.  The  robe  was  symbolical  of  man's  Redeemed 
Body  which  every  man  will  have  when  he  reaches  that 
final  destination, — the  Father's  House. 

The  Ring  symbolizes  the  unity  of  man  with  the  Father, 
of  which  man  becomes  conscious,  and  the  power  with 
which  God  endues  this.  His  Son,  who  has  returned  Home. 

When  man,  like  the  prodigal,  has  forsaken  the  carnal 
nature,  desires  and  illusions  and  reaches  Home,  there  to 
abide  in  the  Father 's  House,  he  will  be  filled  and  thrilled 
with  a  consciousness  of  Divine  Satisfaction. 

Jesus,  in  teaching  the  man  who  is  awake  to  the  reality 
of  his  individuality,  endeavors  to  show  him  that  he  will 
ever  find  that  the  carnal  life  has  not  the  element  of  per- 
manency, neither  enduring  happiness;  and  that  content- 


Divine  Satisfaction  357 

inent,  which  is  the  companion  of  Divine  Satisfaction,  is 
not  to  be  found  within  its  domain,  but  ever  dwells  just 
behind  the  curtain  of  carnality. 

Jesus,  in  His  prayer  to  the  Father,  said,  ''And  now, 
0  Father,  glorify  thou  me  with  thine  own  self,  with  the 
glory  which  I  had  with  Thee  before  the  world  was." — 
St.  John  17:5. 

When  man  has  returned  home  in  consciousness  and 
knows  the  Living,  Loving  Presence  of  our  Father-Mother- 
God,  knows  God  as  He  really  is, — so  near  that  He  hears 
man  *s  softest  whisper  and  knows  his  every  thought, — then 
will  he,  like  Jesus,  talk  consciously  face  to  face  with  God, 
our  Heavenly  Father. 

Jesus  reached  the  place  where  He  would  bring  into 
manifestation  the  God-given  power  to  meet  the  greatest 
enemy  of  mankind — death — so  that  man  here  upon  earth 
might,  when  he  awakens,  know  that  there  is  a  way  to 
escape  and  that  it  is  by  and  through  overcoming.  The 
sublime  promise  in  the  Bible  is  to  "him  that  overcometh." 
In  Revelation,  twenty-first  chapter  and  sixth  verse,  we 
read: 

''And  he  said  unto  me.  It  is  done;  I  am  Alpha  and 
Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end.  I  will  give  unto  him 
that  is  athirst  of  the  fountain  of  the  water  of  life  freely. ' ' 

"He  that  overcometh  shall  inherit  all  things;  and  I 
will  be  his  God,  and  he  shall  be  my  Son. ' '    Rev.  21 :7. 

Jesus  knew  the  Truth  and  was  consciously  abiding  in 
the  Father's  House.  He  knew  His  At-one-ment  with  the 
Father.  He,  therefore,  was  conscious  of  Divine  Satisfac- 
tion. When  Jesus  came  to  the  place  where  it  was  neces- 
sary for  Him  to  bring  into  manifestation  here  upon  earth 
His  God-given  power  and  to  prove  that  He  received 
assistance  from  God  His  Father,  He  did  not  forget, 
neither  neglect,  to  pray,  but  with  words  clear  and  definite 
voiced  his  prayer. 

"These  words  spake  Jesus,  and  lifted  up  His  eyes  to 
heaven  and  said.  Father,  the  hour  is  come;  glorify  thy 
son  that  thy  son  may  also  glorify  Thee."    St.  John  17:1. 


358  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

"As  thou  hast  given  him  power  over  all  flesh,  that  he 
should  give  eternal  life  to  as  many  as  thou  hast  given 
him/' 

**And  this  is  life  eternal,  that  they  might  know  thee, 
the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  thou  hast 
senf 

'  *  I  have  glorified  thee  on  the  earth.  I  have  finished  the 
work  which  thou  gavest  me  to  do/'  St.  John  17:1  to  4, 
inclusive. 

**And  now  I  come  to  thee,  and  these  things  I  speak  in 
the  world,  that  they  might  have  my  joy  fulfilled  in  them- 
selves."    St.  John  17:13. 

' '  That  they  all  may  be  one ;  as  thou,  Father,  art  in  me, 
and  I  in  thee,  that  they  may  also  be  one  in  us,  that  the 
world  may  believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me."  St.  John 
17:21. 

**And  the  glory  which  thou  gavest  me  I  have  given 
them  that  they  may  be  one,  even  as  we  are  one. ' '  St.  John 
17:22. 

**I  in  them  and  thou  in  me,  that  they  may  be  made  per- 
fect in  one ;  and  that  the  world  may  know  that  thou  hast 
sent  me,  and  has  loved  them,  as  thou  hast  loved  me. ' '  St. 
John  17:23. 

"Father,  I  will  that  they  also,  whom  thou  hast  given 
me,  be  with  me  where  I  am,  that  they  may  behold  my 
glory,  which  thou  hast  given  me,  for  thou  lovedst  me 
before  the  foundation  of  the  world."    St.  John  17:24. 

Jesus  Christ  knew  whereof  He  spake.  He  also  under- 
stood His  At-one-ment  with  the  Father  and  the  one-ness 
of  the  One-Life  in  and  through  the  myriad  of  forms  in 
which  it  expresses.  From  that  summit  of  insight,  through 
Illumination,  Jesus  could  lovingly  and  understandingly 
talk  face  to  face  with  His  Heavenly  Father  and  absolutely 
know  that  He  heard  His  prayers. 

When  Jesus  Christ  talked  face  to  face  with  His  Heav- 
enly Father,  He  was  not  swayed  by  the  impulse  of  a  blind 
faith;  neither  did  He  implore  or  beseech  the  Father  to 


Divine  Satisfaction  359 

hear  Him,  because  He  knew  that  the  Father  ever  heareth 
the  prayer  of  man,  for  He  recognizes  even  ''the  sparrow's 
fall."  St.  James  said,  "Ye  ask  amiss,"  therefore  your 
prayers  are  not  answered.  We  see  that  it  requires  know- 
ing to  enable  man  to  ask  aright  and  that  it  is  necessary, 
as  Jesus  said,  for  man  to  ''Know  the  Truth"  before  he 
thoroughly  understands  how  to  pray. 

Jesus  Christ  is  our  way-shower;  therefore,  let  us  turn 
to  His  example  when  we  desire  to  pray.  But,  remember, 
Jesus,  in  His  deep  teachings,  was  talking  to  the  fully- 
awakened  man, — the  individual  who  had  awakened  and 
become  conscious  of  his  individuality  and  of  his  need  of 
assistance,  having  scaled  the  heights  sufficiently  to  see 
that  the  Infinite  can  assist  its  own  manifestations.  When 
man  stands  on  that  height,  he  can  see  how  trustingly 
Jesus  abides  in  the  Father,  even  though  His  presence  is 
invisible  to  the  outer  eye. 

When  man  studies  the  precepts  of  Jesus  Christ  and 
gleans  the  Light  which  shines  in  and  .through  His  Message 
and  step  by  step  moves  along  the  Path  He  trod,  if  he 
continues  upon  this  Path,  he  will  reach  Home,  the  abode 
of  the  conscious  Son  of  God.  Then  Divine  Satisfaction, 
full  and  complete,  is  expressed  in  and  through  him. 

When  man  is  at  Home  and  conscious  of  Divine  Satisfac- 
tion, he  knows  that  he  is  in  the  very  center  of  God  and 
that  the  center  of  God  is  within  him.  He  then  silently 
whispers  within  his  heart  his  desires  and  prayers  and 
knows  that  the  Father  hears,  because  he,  from  the  silent 
chamber  of  his  own  Soul,  talks  in  the  secret  place  of  the 
Most  High  to  his  Heavenly  Father.  There  is  no  separa- 
tion, no  noise,  no  confusion  in  that  silent,  holy  chamber 
of  God.  Then  true  it  is  that  God  hears  each  and  every 
thought,  even  though  silent,  and  every  audible  word,  for 
the  Father  has  promised  that  He  will  answer  the  prayer 
which  takes  places  in  the  secret  chamber  of  the  heart,  if 
uttered  or  asked  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Con- 
scious Son  of  God. 

When  man  has  Divine  Satisfaction,  full  and  complete, 


360  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

he  lovingly  and  reverently  speaks  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  because  he  has  understanding.  No  man  can  attain 
unto  the  concept  of  Divine  Satisfaction  except  he  has 
understanding;  and,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  it  is 
through  and  by  "Knowing  the  Truth"  that  this  takes 
place. 

When  man  has  Divine  Understanding,  he  perceives  that 
Jesus  Christ  means  the  manifestation  of  God  expressed  in 
Perfection.  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth  has  reached  the 
concept,  full  and  complete,  wherein  He  and  the  Father 
are  one.  Therefore,  He  is  the  Saviour  of  those  who  have 
reached  the  stage  upon  their  Path,  beyond  the  illusive 
shadows  of  carnality,  where  they  are  awakened  to  the 
deep  true  Message  of  Jesus  Christ  and  hear,  as  the  ring- 
ing of  a  bell  as  it  sounds  sweet,  strong  and  clear,  the  im- 
mortal words  which  say,  "Be  of  good  cheer,  I  have  over- 
come the  world."  Jesus  mastered  death, — the  last  great 
enemy  of  mankind — in  others,  as  well  as  in  His  own  body ; 
and  one  of  the  notes  in  His  voice,  sweet,  strong  and  clear, 
sounding  even  into  the  dawn  of  the  New  Day,  is  ' '  Follow 
thou  me ! " 

In  one  of  the  conversations  which  Jesus  had  with  His 
Father  He  said,  "Father,  I  pray  not  for  the  world,  but 
for  those  whom  thou  hast  given  me."  Can  any  one  be- 
lieve that  Jesus  Christ  was  selfish  when  He  voiced  those 
words  or  that  He  loved  not  those  who  are  living  in  the 
carnal  life  and  asleep  in  the  reality  of  its  illusions  ?  Truly 
the  man  who  is  fully  awake  and  "Knows  the  Truth" 
could  not  thus  think  or  believe,  for  he  perceives  that 
Jesus,  standing  upon  the  summit,  looked  with  the  eye  of 
vision  in  and  through  humanity  and,  understanding  the 
Great  Law,  knew  that  those  of  the  world  had  not  arrived 
at  the  ripening  season  of  their  cycle.  He,  therefore,  at 
that  time,  when  talking  to  the  Father,  was  speaking  con- 
cerning those  who  were  awake  and  endeavoring  to  solve 
their  own  problems.  Jesus  knew  that  these  few.  His  dis- 
ciples, had  climbed  far  upon  the  Path  and  had  left  the  old 
conception  of  man's  teachings  behind.     He  knew  that 


Divine  Satisfaction  361 

these  would  meet  with  the  same  treatment  from  those  in 
the  old  school  which  Truth  ever  receives  from  those  who 
are  still  bound  in  the  old  concept  of  carnality  and  illusion. 
Each  flash  of  Truth,  as  God  has  caused  it  to  be  given  to 
mankind  that  they  may  awaken  and  move  forward,  at 
least  a  few  steps  toward  the  open  field,  has,  in  general, 
been  met  with  the  desire  in  the  minds  of  the  ignorant,  the 
unawakened,  to  put  out  the  Light,  to  crucify  and  perse- 
cute those  who  catch  the  Light  and,  feeling  the  blessings 
therefrom,  endeavor  to  give  it  to  their  fellow-man. 

But  Truth  cannot  be  eliminated  by  mortal  man,  for,  lo, 
it  is  God;  and  its  light  cannot  be  extinguished,  because 
there  is  no  darkness  at  all. 

When  darkness  is  merged  into  Light,  ignorance  is  con- 
sumed by  Intelligence  and  hate  absorbed  by  Love  in  the 
mind  of  each  and  all  men ;  then  tolerance  and  brotherly 
kindness  will  abide  in  each  heart  and  be  expressed 
through  every  one.  Then  the  Paradisiacal  state  is  estab- 
lished upon  the  earth  and  Jesus  Christ  will  return  to  His 
own  and  His  own  will  hear  His  voice,  because  they  have 
attained  unto  and  are  expressing  Divine  Satisfaction. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

KNOWING  THE  TRUTH 

MAN  may  have  inventive  genius,  but,  if  he  knows 
not  that  the  ability  is  within  him  to  draw  from 
the  silent  depth  of  the  Presence  which  Is  and 
bring  into  expression  the  things  he  has  learned  that  man- 
kind may  be  blessed,  he  will  not  endeavor  to  act. 

Man  may  have  a  deep  and  clear  understanding  of 
God,  His  Law  and  creation;  but,  if  he  knows  not  that 
the  Truth  can  by  him  be  brought  into  expression,  he 
admires  this  beautiful  fabric  from  afar.  When  he  know- 
ingly knows  the  Truth,  he  knows  that  It  is  a  living,  pul- 
sating Presence,  and  he  knows  that  he  can  express  it, — 
yea,  that  it  is  his  province  to  express  it. 

If  man  knowingly  knows  the  Truth,  he  will  express  it. 
He  will  express  it  according  to  the  degree  of  know^ing. 
If  man  have  faith  in  a  far-away  God,  that  is  not  know- 
ing. A  gulf  then  seems  to  exist  between  himself  and 
God. 

When  man  knowingly  knows  the  Truth,  he  is  a  con- 
scious Son  of  the  Living  God.  He  then  abides  at  Home 
and  knows  not  care,  fear  nor  anxiety.  Knowing  the 
Truth,  he  rests  in  action  in  the  Presence  of  the  One  only 
Presence  which  is  God,  unmanifest  and  manifest. 

When  man  knows  the  Truth,  he  positively  knows  that 
no  harm  can  befall  him,  because  he  is  in  the  very  center 
of  the  Living  God.  In  this  place  there  is  Love,  Peace, 
Harmony,  Life,  Power  and  Intelligence.  In  this  know- 
ing state  concerning  his  dwelling  place,  he  will  sing 

362 


Knowing  the  Truth  363 

''Holy,  Holy,  Holy,'* — this  is  the  sweet,  tender  Presence 
of  our  Heavenly  Father. 

He  perceives  that  it  depends  upon  the  knowing  quality 
within  himself,  if  he  is  consciously  at  Home  in  the 
Father's  House  here  and  now;  or,  if  he  permits  himself, 
in  belief,  to  dwell  far  out  toward  the  outer  edge  of  the 
Infinite,  far  away  from  Home. 

Knowing  the  Truth  is  expressed  in  its  completeness 
in  the  man  who  knows  that  he  knows  the  Truth  as  a 
Master.  He  knows  that  God  has  endued  him  with  the 
power  to  become  a  master.  He  knows  that  he  must  arise 
and  attain  unto  the  understanding  which  will  enable 
him  to  use  this  God-given  power  that  he  may  remove  all 
the  stones  which  confront  him  upon  his  Path.  He,  know- 
ing the  Truth,  perceives  that  it  is  his  province  to  under- 
standingly  and  courageously  meet  and  roll  away  every 
stone  which  he  finds  in  his  Path,  as  he  travels  upon  that 
homeward  journey  from  the  sense-consciousness  to  the 
Divine-concept,  or  from  the  carnal  illusion  to  the  Christ- 
Illumined  Consciousness. 

When  man  knows  the  Truth,  he  has  vision  and  with 
vision  he  discerns  that  man  is  to  be  courageous  in  right- 
eous boldness  and  move  forward  and  do  with  his  might 
those  things  his  hands  find  to  do  each  day  as  he  moves 
along. 

The  distance  man  has  traveled,  from  the  day  man  was 
removed  from  the  Garden  of  Eden,  until  he,  like  the 
Prodigal  in  Jesus'  parable,  awakens  and  starts  upon  his 
homeward  journey,  counts  not;  because  man  was  sound 
asleep  and  the  results  of  the  acts  of  a  man  who  is  esleep 
are  as  naught;  but  when  man  awakens  and  starts  to 
retrace  his  steps,  he  has  become  so  conscious  of  the  Infi- 
nite that  He  is  a  self-evident  Being  to  him.  He  knows 
that  there  is  an  Intelligence  so  great  and  sublime  that  it 
seeth  all,  knoweth  all  and  loveth  all. 

Consciously  knowing  the  Truth  means  immortality 
here  and  now  and  a  conscious  abiding  in  the  immortal 
Universe.    Man  then  understandingly  knows  that  he  is 


364  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

hid  away  from  the  carnal  concept  and  its  expressions. 
When  man  knows  the  Truth,  he  becomes  conscious  of  his 
mastership. 

Some  may  desire  an  explanation  of  man's  mastership. 
It  is  when  he  so  thoroughly  knows  the  Truth  that  he  has 
come  into  an  understanding  of  the  dominion  with  which 
God  endued  man  at  creation, — at  that  day  when  man 
became  an  individualized  manifestation  of  God.  He  also 
will  understand  the  manifestations  and  the  Law  of  God 
which  operates  in  its  different  degrees  in  and  through 
man  and  the  Universe. 

Let  us  here  again  remind  the  reader  that  Jesus,  when 
speaking  to  the  awakened  man,  said,  * '  Ye  shall  know  the 
Truth,  and  the  Truth  shall  make  you  free."  Jesus  here 
spake  a  command  and  gave  a  promise.  It  was  not  that 
the  personal  Jesus  made  these,  but  that  He,  through 
knowing  the  Truth  and  having  a  clear  understanding  of 
it,  could  thus  teach  the  awakened  of  earth  this  important 
Truth  which  it  is  necessary  that  man  understand,  ere  he 
is  liberated  from  the  school  of  earth  and  from  those  ex- 
pressions and  experiences  through  which  man  passes  as 
he  lives  in  the  carnal  illusions,  which  causes  him  to  be- 
lieve that  he  is  a  carnal  man  and  subject  through  inher- 
itance from  his  father  and  ancestors  to  all  the  sorrows, 
calamities  and  joys  to  which  carnality  is  heir.  The  ex- 
periences of  man  in  his  carnal  state  are  indeed  real  to 
him  and  he  passes  from  the  innocence  and  joyousness 
of  childhood  into  youth  and  into  old  age  and  the  grave 
closes  over  his  mortal  body,  ''Earth  to  earth,  dust  to 
dust." 

Dust  is  a  very  vapory  illusion,  a  shadow,  misleading. 
The  shadow  is  that  body  called  flesh,  which  is  the  result 
of  the  false  beliefs  in  man's  mind,  called  ''the  carnal- 
mind." 

When  man  has  attained  unto  the  knowing  quality  of 
the  Truth,  he  sees  the  Absoluteness  of  the  All-ness,  as  it 
really  is;  and,  in  and  through  the  Light  of  Truth,  he 
abides  in  the  holy  abiding  place.    None  but  the  knowing 


Knowing  the  Truth  365 

one  can  in  any  way  comprehend  the  beauty,  grandeur 
and  harmonious  rhythm  of  that  place  where  man  stands 
in  consciousness  when  he  knowingly  knows  the  Truth. 

When  the  awakened  man  perceives  the  greatness  and 
Love  which  ever  abides  just  back  of  the  curtain  which 
enfolds  carnality,  his  desires  burst  forth  in  expression, 
in  prayer,  in  concentration,  and,  in  that  time  of  refresh- 
ment, in  meditation  in  conscious  at-one-ment  with  the 
Father,  he  serenely  sings  praises  to  God. 

When  man  knows  the  Truth,  he  is  Illumined  and  un- 
derstandingly  abides  at  Home  and  Peace  and  Love  are 
his  portion, — his  inheritance. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

CONSCIOUS  IMMORTALITY. 

BECAUSE  man,  in  his  not  fully  awakened  concept, 
has  believed  immortality  was  expressed  and  en- 
joyed only  by  those  who  have  passed  through  death 
into  the  invisible  state,  there  to  abide  forever  and  for- 
ever, he  has  through  faith  in  the  teachings  of  his  fellow- 
man  endeavored  to  believe  that  his  loved  ones,  who  have 
gone  from  his  sight  by  crossing  that,  to  him,  mysterious 
river  were  immortal  and  abiding  in  a  fixed  state. 

Conscious  immortality  is  to  be  obtained  on  this  side  of 
that  mysterious  river  (mysterious  only  to  the  one  who 
knows  not  the  Truth),  and  it  is  gained  by  knowing  the 
Truth,  as  Jesus  said,  and  by  understandingly  placing 
one's  self  in  union  with  the  scientific  Law  of  Action  and 
with  every  attribute  of  the  Infinite,  that  man  may  become 
quickened  in  all  departments  of  his  four-fold  being, — 
Body,  Mind,  Soul  and  Spirit. 

Man,  after  his  awakening,  receives  the  Baptism  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  This  is  the  new  Birth,  in  which  he  becomes 
conscious  that  regeneration  has  been  set  into  action  with- 
in his  body,  his  four-fold  nature  quickened  into  newness 
of  life. 

When  man  came  into  the  generation  concept,  he  passed 
out  from  the  Garden  of  Eden,  and  the  illusive  deceptions 
of  his  carnal  desire  remain  until  he,  through  knowing 
the  Truth  and  living  it  in  his  daily  life,  comes  into  the 
conscious  realization  that  he  has  passed  into  the  regen- 
eration, wherein  even  the  body  is  to  become  quickened 

366 


Conscious  Immortality  367 

and  purified  through  the  understanding  of  the  Truth 
which  he  has  gained. 

To  attain  unto  Conscious  Immortality  here  and  now, 
man  first  learns  that  it  is  the  time  in  the  movements  of 
the  cyclic  events  for  those  who  stand  near  enough  the 
summit  to  catch  the  sound  of  the  chimes  which  announce 
to  all  those  who  are  awake  that  now  is  the  time  of  man's 
Redemption  in  which  the  carnal  nature  is  swallowed  up 
in  Life. 

Jesus  Christ  gave  an  oracle  when  He  was  giving  His 
message,  an  oracle  which  had  not  before  been  given  in  so 
practical  a  way  to  the  men  of  earth.  The  truthfulness 
of  the  oracle  He  proved  by  His  works  which  He  did 
while  in  the  confines  of  the  tomb,  in  His  resurrection  and 
in  His  ascension. 

Some  may  ask,  '' Wherein  did  this  work  of  Jesus  differ 
from  that  of  others  who  have  disappeared  from  the  sight 
of  the  earth-man,  such  as  Elijah,  Enoch  and  others  of 
more  ancient  times  ? ' ' 

Jesus'  works  differ  from  all  others  in  this:  He  was  a 
conscious  Son  of  God,  resting  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father. 
His  self-will  absorbed  in  the  Divine  will,  He  was  not 
only  willing,  but  ready  and  prepared  when  the  Infinite 
Intelligence  chose  Him  as  the  Soul  who  was  to  come  to 
earth  and  dwell  among  the  men  of  earth,  that  they  could 
more  clearly  comprehend  Him,  His  message  and  His 
works. 

The  world  was  ripe  and  the  time  for  a  Saviour  to  be 
born  had  arrived.  Jesus  was  the  Soul  that  stood  near 
the  summit.  He  came  with  a  consciousness  of  His  work. 
His  message  and  His  At-one-ment  with  the  Father  which 
enabled  Him  to  move  steadily  through  humanity,  as  it 
lived  in  the  finite  concept  of  itself  and  the  world. 

Jesus  knew  that  He,  to  become  entirely  and  forever 
free  from  birth  and  death,  must  work  out  His  problem  as 
He  stood  in  carnality.  Knowing  the  Truth,  He  was  not 
swayed;  neither  deceived  by  any  of  the  illusive  decep- 
tions which  always  make  of  the  carnal  mind  a  lie. 


368  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Jesus  Worked  out  His  life  in  such  a  way,  that  he  fin- 
ished in  victory  every  problem  which  He  confronted, 
causing  the  Law  of  Cause  and  Effect  to  forever  cease,  it 
passing  away  from  its  power  over  Him.  He  did  it  so 
openly  and  left  His  rule  so  clear  and  distinct,  that  every 
man,  when  he  arrives  at  the  time  of  ripening  fruit  upon 
the  human  tree,  can  understandingly  know  the  Truth  as 
Jesus  taught  it.  When  man  consciously  understands 
this  great  Truth  concerning  God,  man  and  the  Universe 
and  knows  that  he  knoWs  the  Truth,  he  will  clearly 
discern  that  his  next  step  is  to  bring  forth  in  his  mind 
and  body  the  consciousness  of  immortality  here  and  now. 

A  man  necessarily  becomes  a  master  ere  he  accom- 
plishes this  last  work  successfully,  and  no  man  is  a  suc- 
cessful master  until  he  has  gained  a  clear  understanding 
of  the  deep  things  of  God,  the  things  which  are  hidden 
away  where  the  man  who  is  living  in  the  carnal-dream- 
concept  sees  them  not  nor  perceives  their  soft  and  gentle 
presence,  though  so  near  to  him  that  it  enfolds  him  with 
a  living  presence  from  which  he  cannot  depart. 

It  is  not  understanding  alone  concerning  the  deep 
Truths  contained  in  the  message  of  Jesus,  but  the  bring- 
ing of  this  understanding  into  expression,  which  will  set 
man  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  of  death. 

It  is  in  the  consciousness,  man  arrives  at  Home ;  and 
the  robe  which  his  Father  gives  him  is  his  pure  Spirit 
Body. 

The  Father  gave  man  his  form  at  the  beginning,  at 
the  Dawn,  when  man  became  an  individualized  mani- 
festation of  the  Living  God. 

Neither  God's  works,  nor  His  Law,  nor  His  Presence 
change.  Therefore,  man  has  had  this  pure  Spirit-Sub- 
stance Body  all  the  time;  but,  when  he  partook  of  the 
Fruit  of  the  Tree  of  Knowledge  which  stood  in  the  midst 
of  the  Garden  and  passed  into  the  mist  which  obscured 
his  vision,  he  lost  the  memory  of  his  perfect  self  and, 
with  the  outward-looking  eye,  learned  to  see  himself  as 


Conscious  Immortality  369 

mortal  and  subject  to  disease,  age  and  death.  As  long 
as  man  continues  looking  outward,  he  sees  only  the  shad- 
ows of  the  false  beliefs  which  abide  in  the  carnal  mind, 
and  of  these  only  is  he  conscious.  Man,  having  lost  all 
consciousness  of  his  Spiritual  Self  and  of  his  nearness  to 
the  Father,  lives  in  a  consciousness  of  illusions  which 
seems  real  to  him. 

But  the  Illumined  Man  stands  erect  amidst  these  illu- 
sions and  from  a  knowing  mind  and  an  understanding 
heart  he,  with  the  consciousness  of  a  master,  visions  them 
into  their  native  nothingness,  where  they  were  when  all 
men  dwelt  in  Paradise.  When  a  master  visions  them 
away,  they  are  just  where  they  have  been  all  the  time, — • 
no-where.    Being  no-thing,  they  could  not  be  anywhere. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  thing  which  is  holding  the  family 
of  earth's  men  chained  to  the  wheel  of  carnality  is  illu- 
sion ;  or  in  other  words,  he  is  only  conscious  of  the  carnal 
man,  his  beliefs,  desires,  fears  and  doubts. 

The  Illumined  Man,  the  one  who  has  vision,  is  con- 
scious of  immortality  and  of  an  immortal  universe,  and 
this  conscious  Son  of  God  walks  among  the  men  of  earth, 
who  are  living  in  the  carnal-mind-concept,  a  Master.  He 
understandingly,  through  God's  help,  rolls  every  stone 
from  his  path  as  he  meets  it.  He,  being  through  under- 
standing and  knowing  the  Truth  a  master,  is  ever  ready 
to  help  any  of  the  men  of  earth  who  desire  and  require 
his  assistance. 

This  takes  place  here  upon  earth,  which  is  a  prepara- 
tory school ;  and  none  pass  from  this  school  forever  until 
they  are  free  indeed. 

Some  say  that  man  is  saved  at  death,  if  his  heart  has 
been  touched  through  religious  teachings  and  his  name 
written  on  the  book  of  a  church  (which  is  organized  and 
held  together  by  man's  device),  and  will  be  permitted  to 
enter  and  pass  through  the  gates  into  that  city,  called 
''the  Holy  City." 


370  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Some  say  man  is  saved  when  his  mind  is  cleansed ;  and 
that,  when  the  man  with  the  clear  mind  approaches  the 
gates  of  Gold,  they  will  swing  jar  and  he  will  walk  the 
streets  of  gold. 

But  it  is  the  full  and  complete  message  which  Jesus 
gave  for  the  redemption  of  man  in  his  four-fold  nature, 
which,  when  understood  and  put  into  practice,  will  extri- 
cate him  completely  and  forever  from  the  web  of  illu- 
sions. When  man  accomplishes  this  he  is  a  master  and 
has  Conscious  Immortality  in  his  Body,  Mind,  Soul  and 
Spirit  and  consciously  lives  and  moves  in  Immortality. 

This  is  very  vital,  indeed,  for  the  man  to  know  who 
has  come  into  the  understanding,  even  though  intellect- 
ually, that  it  is  the  Truth,  ''The  Absolute  Truth,"  that 
man  has  been  in  his  Real  Being  an  Immortal  always. 
When  man  becomes  conscious  of  this,  through  knowledge, 
insight,  perception,  illumination  and  vision,  he  will  bring 
his  consciousness  of  his  immortality  into  expression  m 
and  through  his  whole  Being. 

Man,  in  Conscious  Immortality,  sees  nothing  but  God 
in  expression  around,  about  and  within  himself,  because 
he  knows  and  understands  the  wonder  of  it  all,  that,  in 
God's  unmanifest  state  and  in  expression  in  the  myriad 
of  forms,  God  is  all  there  really  Is. 

When  man  is  conscious  immortality  in  his  body,  mind, 
soul  and  spirit  and  understandingly  abides  in  the  midst 
of  God's  Spiritual  Creation,  he  is  surrounded  with  per- 
fection and  beauty  on  every  side  and  the  very  air  is 
ladened  with  Satisfaction  and  contentment. 

What  will  happen  to  the  man  who  has  conscious  im- 
mortality? He  will  be  entirely  changed  within  himself. 
He  fears  not  disease,  because  he,  through  his  spoken 
word,  can  speak  it  into  nothingness.  With  the  eye  of 
vision,  he  can  vision  it  away  from  himself  and  from  those 
who  may  call  upon  him  for  assistance.  Death  no  longer 
holds  horror  for  him.  He  smilingly  meets  its  dark, 
threatening  cloud  and  understandingly  pierces  it,  and  lo, 


Conscious  Immortality  371 

the    sunlight    of   God's   Life    is    there    and    death   has 
departed. 

Death  cannot  overcome  an  illumined  master,  because 
he  visions  through  it  and  it  crumbles  into  dust  and  the 
wind  blows  it  away  as  the  chaff  on  the  threshing  floor. 

When  the  chaff  is  all  blown  from  the  floor,  the  clean 
and  perfect  floor  is  left  heaped  full  of  the  finest  of  the 
wheat.  It  is  not  even  disturbed  by  the  chaff  which 
covered  it.  So  man's  perfect  form,  which  is  his  individ- 
uality clothed  in  spirit,  is  not  in  the  least  disturbed  or 
changed  by  the  clouds  of  disease  and  death  which  ap- 
proach it. 

Freedom,  full  and  complete,  Immortality  here  and  now 
is  the  hidden  manna  which  is  contained  in  the  Message 
of  the  Nazarene. 

Can  any  man  glean  these  deep  hidden  truths  and  eat 
sufficiently  of  them  to  gain  courage  to  endeavor  to  attain 
this  one  thing  of  importance  ?  Can  any  man  attain  this 
conscious  freedom  here  and  now  ?    Why  not  ? 

It  is  man's  prerogative,  if  he  gleans  this  Light  strong 
and  bright  enough  to  illuminate  him.  None  can  do  this 
without  knowing  the  Truth.  To  believe  this  Great  Mes- 
sage, which  Jesus  gave  to  humanity,  is  not  sufficient; 
although  believing  is  necessary,  ere  man  will  seek  to  find 
the  beautiful  gem,  which  the  illumined  man  with  his  eye 
of  vision  perceives  to  be  Redeemed  Man.  Not  redeemed 
and  left  in  a  far  country,  but  at  Home  in  his  Father's 
House  and  His  Father's  Care  over  him  and  his  Father, 
from  the  abundance  which  fills  His  storehouse,  supplies 
his  every  need. 

In  Conscious  Immortality,  there  is  no  sluggishness,  no 
lethargy.  All  is  action  in  the  Immortal  Universe.  God 
in  action,  acts  in  and  through  it.  As  God  ''rests  in  ac- 
tion," so  man,  ''His  image  and  likeness,"  when  he  has 
arrived  in  consciousness  at  Home,  also  rests  in  action. 
He  acts  in  insight  and  in  rhythm  with  the  Law,  which 
is  God  in  action.    This  is  Rest,  Harmony,  Rhythm. 


372  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

In  the  concept  of  immortality,  man  knows  that  he  is  in 
the  ''Secret  place  of  the  Most  High."  King  David, 
when  he  touched  that  string  of  the  Infinite  Harp,  sang, 
**He  that  dwells  in  the  Secret  place  of  the  Most  High 
shall  abide  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty.'* — **The 
Lord,  He  is  my  refuge  and  my  fortress,  in  Him  shall  I 
trust." — "His  truth  shall  be  thy  shield  and  buckler." 
In  those  moments  of  inspiration  he  exclaimed,  ''Though 
ten  thousand  should  fall  at  thy  side,  it  shall  not  come 
near  thee," — and,  "Only  with  thine  eyes  shalt  thou  be- 
hold and  see  the  reward  of  the  wicked." — Psalm  91st. 

King  David,  through  inspiration,  perceived  the  Great 
Truth,  but  it  was  afar  from  him.  He  was  not  accounted 
worthy  to  build  the  Great  Temple  which  was  symbolical 
of  man's  redeemed  body. 

Moses  viewed  the  Promised  Land  from  afar.  He  was 
used  by  God  to  lead  the  children  of  Israel  out  from  bond- 
age, which  is  symbolical  of  man  attaining  freedom  from 
the  carnal  illusions.  Moses  has  accomplished  his  great 
work,  but  he  had  not  attained  unto  the  harvest  time  (fin- 
ishing cycle)  and  he  "died  in  the  land  of  Moab,  and  God 
buried  him, ' ' — hid  him  away. 

"When  the  Children  of  Israel  came  to  the  Promised 
Land,  they  must  enter  and  master  every  opposing  foe 
they  meet,  and  by  and  by  they  had  the  land  in  their 
possession,  the  Land  of  Canaan.  So  man,  when  he  crosses 
the  line  between  the  mortal-concept  and  illumination  con- 
cerning the  consciousness  of  immortality,  will  meet  ob- 
stacles in  many  and  difficult  expressions;  but  he  here  is 
expected  to  arise  in  conscious  strength  and  realize  that 
these  things  have  no  power  to  darken  his  vision  or  blur 
his  understanding. 

It  is  necessary  for  man,  even  though  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  immortality,  to  ever  be  alert,  that  he  be  not 
deceived  by  any  appearance  to  return  to  the  old  concept 
or  to  turn  aside  and  dwell  a  while  in  some  of  the  beauti- 
ful cities  which  he  finds  in  the  forest  of  carnality. 


Conscious  Immortality  373 

If  man  remains  alert  in  his  consciousness  of  Immor- 
tality after  he  has  been  quickened  into  the  Illumination 
and  Realization  of  it,  he  will  never  be  deterred  from 
walking  in  the  Light  which  is  so  bright  that  he  perceives 
no  darkness.  He  sees  not  the  illusions  of  carnality, 
because  he  is  conscious  only  of  God  and  His  Creation 
and  he  understandingly  lives  in  the  center  of  the  ' '  Great 
I  am''  and  he  knows  that  the  center  of  the  ''Great  I  Am" 
is  within  him.  He  there  abides  in  Conscious  Immor- 
tality. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

THE   LIVING   GOD   ALMIGHTY. 

IN  the  preceding  chapters  of  this  book,  we  have  in 
many  different  ways  endeavored  to  portray  the  same 
great   Truth,   that   all   degrees   of  awakening   con- 
sciousness may  be  assisted  into  its  quickening  and  illumi- 
nation. 

The  Living  God  Almighty  is  the  foundation  of  the 
Message  which  is  being  given  in  this  book.  Jesus  in  His 
message  interpreted  God  to  the  men  of  earth.  This  book 
is  only  a  flash-light  of  the  twentieth  century  thrown  upon 
the  message  of  Jesus  to  assist  the  awakened  man  to 
understand  the  wholeness  of  the  teachings  of  the  Great 
Nazarene. 

It  means  man's  freedom  through  emancipation  by  the 
Power  of  Truth.  Freedom  is  Freedom !  Man  cannot  be 
free  and  remain  in  bondage.  Thus  man  can  see,  even  as 
through  ''a  glass  darkly,"  that  the  Souls  which  have 
passed  away  from  earth 's  school  through  the  door  known 
as  death  and  are  dwelling  in  the  harmonious  state  known 
as  Heaven,  although  seeming  to  the  unenlightened  ones 
to  be  free,  are  not,  being  still  in  bondage. 

Some  may  ask  what  this  bondage  is  which  binds  them 
when  they  seem  to  be  free.  It  is  the  law  of  Compensa- 
tion, the  fact  of  Cause  and  Effect.  Man  is  just  as  much 
bound  in  this  law  there  as  here,  until  he  has  learned  the 
great  and  deep  Truth,  which  is  contained  in  the  message 
which  Jesus  of  Nazareth  gave  and,  through  understand- 
ing, illumination  and  vision  attains  immortality.     Then 

374 


The  Living  God  Almighty  375 

man  is  free, — yes,  free  indeed.  He  then  is  conscious  of 
his  Freedom. 

When  man  has  attained  the  consciousness  of  immor- 
tality and  the  ability,  through  understanding,  to  permit 
it  to  become  manifest  in  and  through  him,  until  his  body, 
mind,  Soul  and  Spirit  are  one  conscious  immortality 
here  and  now,  he  then  is  forever  free.  There  is  then  no 
law  of  Cause  and  Effect  for  him.  He  has  passed 
beyond  it. 

Where  does  man  dwell  when  he  is  understandingly 
Free?    In  God. 

The  Living  God  Almighty  is  the  one  and  only  Pres- 
ence and,  in  His  impersonal  effulgence.  He  is  everywhere 
present  and  this  impersonal  presence  becomes  personal  to 
the  consciously  awakened  man,  when  he  so  desires. 

Jesus  Christ  stands  before  the  Spiritually  awakened 
man,  a  manifestation  of  God  in  perfect  expression ;  and, 
conscious  of  it,  Jesus  came  into  the  human  family  which 
is  living  in  the  carnal  concept  and  taught  and  revealed 
(as  much  as  they  would  permit)  the  glory  which  God 
gives  to  the  conscious  Son  of  God.  The  deeper  points 
of  His  message  He  found  necessary  to  give  to  St.  John 
in  Revelation. 

Jesus  required  John  to  seal  the  book.  Some  of  the 
revelation  was  so  glorious.  He  knew  that  the  men  of 
earth  could  not  receive  it;  therefore.  He  told  John  to 
write  it  not. 

The  glowing  glory  of  God,  none  but  the  redeemed  man 
can  behold  and  be  sustained,  so  that  they  can  ''look  upon 
the  face  of  God  and  live."  The  Bible  says,  ''None  can 
look  upon  the  face  of  God  and  live."  This  plainly 
means,  none  except  those  who  have  knowledge  merged 
into  understanding  and  burst  into  vision  can  endure  the 
brightness  of  the  Glory  of  God. 

Jehovah-God  is  a  center  of  the  Infinite  to  those  who 
dwell  in  this  earth;  and  the  glowing  of  His  glory  is  so 
great  that  the  sun  of  our  solar  system  is  but  a  symbol  of 
it.    We  may  say  of  this  sun  that  it  is  the  outer  glowing 


376  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

in  form  of  the  central  abode  of  the  consciousness  of  the 
Living  God  Almighty. 

The  light  and  warmth  of  the  solar  sun  is  so  quicken- 
ing, that  all  living  things  require  it.  When  man  knows 
he  requires  the  sunlight's  warmth  and  quickening  power 
that  he  may  enjoy  physical  health,  he  moves  out  into  the 
sun's  rays;  or,  if  he  is  in  a  room  which  is  dark,  when  he 
understands  how  necessary  the  sun's  light  and  warmth 
is,  he  will  arise,  step  to  the  window,  extend  his  hand  and 
raise  the  curtain  which  hangs  between  him  and  the  sun. 
What  is  the  result  of  his  efforts?  A  flood  of  sunlight 
envelops  him  and  fills  his  room. 

Just  so  it  is  with  the  Living  God  Almighty.  He  is 
ever  present,  but  as  long  as  the  curtain  is  drawn  (in 
man's  mind)  man  knows  it  not  and  as  long  as  man  knows 
it  not,  there  is  no  glowing  of  God's  glory  for  him,  al- 
though the  Living  God  is  ever  present. 

When  man  awakens  from  the  carnal  sleep,  he  finds  him- 
self in  the  dark  room  and  it  is  necessary  that  man,  him- 
self, arise  and  exert  his  own  efforts  until  the  curtain  is 
removed  and  he  becomes  conscious  of  the  presence  of  the 
Living  God.  Then  his  innermost  Being  is  thrilled  and 
he  becomes  conscious  of  the  indwelling  Divinity,  which  is 
his  Real-Self,  and  conscious,  also,  of  the  surrounding  and 
over-shadowing  presence  of  the  glory  of  God,  which  is  so 
bright  that  none  but  the  conscious  Son  of  the  Living  God 
can  behold  it  in  its  glowing  glory. 

St.  Paul,  when  he  became  awakened,  caught  a  glimpse 
of  the  glory  of  the  Living  God  which  was  within,  around 
and  about  Jesus  Christ,  who  appeared  to  him  as  he  was 
on  his  way  to  Damascus,  but  it  was  of  such  brightness 
that  when  St.  Paul  beheld  it,  he  became  blind.  Right 
there  is  where  he  perceived  that  he  was  in  a  dark  room 
and  he  knew  that  he  had  not  knowledge  or  power  which 
would  remove  that  blindness.  What  did  he  do?  He 
prayed  to  God ;  and  another  of  God 's  expressions,  known 


The  Living  God  Almighty  377 

as  Ananias,  who  had  a  great  deal  of  Spiritual  Light 
(enough  so  that  the  Father  and  Jesus  Christ,  the  con- 
scious Son  of  the  Living  God,  could  talk  to  him)  was  sent 
unto  Saul  for  his  healing.  Jesus  told  Annanias  to  go  to 
Saul;  but  not  being  free  from  fear,  he  said,  ''Lord,  Saul 
is  persecuting  thy  followers  even  unto  death ' ' ;  but  when 
the  Lord  still  commanded,  Annanias  arose  and  came  to 
Saul. 

When  he  came  in  unto  Saul,  he  addressed  him  thus: 
''Arise,  brother  Saul'*;  and  he  prayed  for  him  and  the 
scales  which  composed  the  curtain  fell  from  his  eyes  and 
"Saul  received  his  sight''. 

These  men  stood,  as  all  men  do,  in  the  very  presence  of 
the  Living  God;  but  they  awoke  and  realized  that  they 
required  assistance  from  the  Father,  who  is  the  Living 
God  Almighty.  To  attain  this  assistance,  it  must  be  set 
in  action  in  their  behalf  in  answer  to  the  special  need 
they  required  and  in  proportion  to  the  special  effort  they 
make  is  the  response. 

It  was  sight  which  Saul  desired.  How  could  these 
awakened  men,  through  their  efforts,  bring  this  into  man- 
ifestation ?    By  and  through  prayer. 

Annanias  had  been  taught  by  Jesus ;  therefore,  he  knew 
how  to  pray,  and  Saul  received  his  sight.  Saul  did  not 
sit  still,  when  his  sight  was  restored,  and  feast  upon  the 
brightness  of  the  glory  of  God ;  but  he  arose  and,  in  the 
guidance  of  Jesus  Christ,  went  at  once  about  his  Father's 
business. 

Though  St.  Paul  had  received  such  a  wonderful  awak- 
ening and  he  knew  that  Jesus  had  appeared  to  him  in  the 
great  and  shining  glory  of  God,  yet,  he  must  pass  out 
upon  the  Path  and  pass  the  initiations  necessary  for  the 
candidate  for  freedom;  so  he  tarried  in  Arabia  three 
years.  While  there  he  received  the  Baptism  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which  is  the  New  Birth.  He  there  was  born  into 
the  Spiritual- Concept  of  himself.  Before  this,  it  was  an 
intellectual-concept  only,  but,  when  the  New  Birth  took 


378  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

place  in  him,  he  knew  God  and  his  At-one-ment  with 
Him.  Could  he  fail  in  his  ministry  thereafter?  He 
surely  could  not,  because  he  had  seen  that  Light  of  the 
Glory  of  God,  of  which  he  never  lost  sight. 

Then,  as  man  looks  toward  the  solar  sun  and  appre- 
ciates its  blessings  to  humanity,  let  him  look  just  back  of 
that  great  orb  and  see  that  the  abiding  place  of  Jehovah- 
God  is  there  and  that  Jesus  Christ  dwells  there  and  that 
their  consciousness  is  Infinite  and  reaches  unto  the  cir- 
cumference and  back  to  the  center,  for,  lo  and  behold, 
''the  center  is  here,  there  and  everywhere". 

When  man  becomes  a  conscious  Son  of  the  Living  God, 
he  is  a  radiant  center  of  the  Glory  of  God  and  he  ex- 
presses this  glory  according  to  the  breadth,  length  and 
depth  of  his  vision.  This  is  the  glowing,  the  bright  and 
shining  Light. 

Then  let  man  receive  the  glow,  God's  glory,  and  con- 
sciously live  face  to  face  with  God  in  this  glory  and  un- 
derstandingly  commune  with  the  Living  God  Almighty. 
This  is  Freedom. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

CONSCIOUS  INDIVIDUALITY 

INDIVIDUALITY  is  the  manifestation  of  God  in  the 
highest  form.  It  is  that  which  is  His  crowning  glory 
and  of  which  God  said,  ''Let  us  create  in  our  image 
and  likeness. ' ' 

Man  may  have  gleaned  the  golden  grains  of  Truth, 
which  are  sown  in  every  preceding  page  of  this  book,  and, 
through  the  understanding  gained,  become  illumined  into 
vision  and  lovingly  know  the  Living  God  Almighty ;  and 
yet,  something  be  lacking  that  his  concept  may  be  com- 
plete. Therefore,  we  now  add  the  last  needful  point  to 
make  the  complete  and  rounded-out  consciousness  of  the 
Son  of  the  Living  God. 

Conscious  Immortality  is  an  impersonal  concept  of  the 
great  Truth  after  personality  has  been  reduced  to  the 
element  of  dust,  and  by  the  wind,  blown  away,  like  as  the 
chaff  upon  the  threshing  floor  when  there  is  not  even  a 
trace  of  it  left. 

Individuality,  the  perfect  manifestation  of  God,  re- 
mains and  becomes  evident,  when  all  dust  of  illusions  is 
blown  from  the  mind  and  the  mind,  that  operated  in  the 
mentality  of  Paradise,  again  is  given  full  sway.  This 
mind  knows  naught  but  the  individuality  of  man,  God 
and  the  Spiritual  Universe. 

Jesus  gave  the  men  of  earth  a  flash-light  glimpse  of 
how  it  is  with  man  when  he  is  consciously  living  in  his 
individuality.  He  caused  His  body  to  become  invisible 
when  they  tried  to  injure  Him  when  He  knew  His  work 
was  not  yet  finished.    He  raised  His  body,  with  the  help 

379 


380  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

of  His  Father,  from  the  tomb.  He  understandingly  so 
quickened  the  vibrations  of  His  inner  self,  that  the  outer 
temple  responded  and  the  vibrations  began  to  raise.  Dur- 
ing those  hours  His  body  lay  in  the  sepulchre,  which  was 
hewn  from  solid  rock  and  belonged  to  Joseph  of  Ara- 
mathia,  the  vibrations  continued  to  raise  and,  when  He 
had  finished  the  work  that  He  had  to  do  on  the  other 
planes,  which  was  preaching  to  the  spirits  in  prison,  He 
returned  and  through  the  God-consciousness  within  Him 
took  up  the  body  and  caused  the  vibrations  thereof  to  be- 
come merged  into  the  vibrations  of  the  individual.  He, 
then,  knew  that  the  Holy  Wedlock  had  taken  place  in 
Him,  and  that  He  was  a  Master,  sufficiently  great  to  bring 
His  Masterhood  into  outer  expression.  This  is  where  the 
crowning  glory  was  placed  upon  the  acts  of  Jesus  the 
Christ.  He  caused  this  deep  thing  to  take  place  in  the 
uniting  of  His  inner  and  outer  selves;  and  the  merging 
of  the  outer  body  into  the  individuality  was  so  complete, 
that  the  individuality  alone  remained. 

Jesus  wrought  out  this  on  this  plane,  that  the  men 
who  are  living  here  upon  earth,  when  sufficiently  awak- 
ened to  catch  the  depth  of  it,  could  learn  the  way,  which 
leads  from  the  wheel  that  forever  rolls  along  the  winding 
path  of  carnality  and  holds  man  chained  to  it.  Man  is 
in  the  bondage  of  death  as  long  as  he  knows  not  that  deep 
Truth,  which  Jesus  Christ  taught  and  proved  by  His 
death  on  the  cross.  His  three  days  in  the  tomb,  when  He, 
with  His  whole  Being, — Soul,  Body,  Mind  and  Spirit, 
united  consciously  in  one  completeness,  came  forth  from 
the  tomb  ''And  led  His  disciples  out  as  far  as  Bethany, 
where  He  lifted  up  His  hands  and  blessed  them**;  and, 
**  while  He  blessed  them.  He  was  parted  from  them,  and 
carried  up  into  the  heaven.  * '    St.  Luke,  24th  chapter. 

Jesus  Christ  was  conscious  individuality  in  manifesta- 
tion, and  expressed  it  when  He  arose.  There  was  no 
physical  body  left  upon  earth  when  He  ascended,  only  as 
the  dust  was  carried  away,  and  those  who  beheld  de- 
scribed it  as  clouds.     Then  the  clouds  of  the  Glory  of 


Conscious  Individuality  381 

God  enfolded  Him,  and,  lo.  He  was  lost  from  the  sight  of 
the  man  who  has  the  carnal  sight  only. 

Yes,  the  glowing  Glory  of  God  enfolded  him.  He  was 
a  conscious  radiating  center  of  God^s  glory;  but,  owing 
to  the  darkness  in  the  minds  of  the  men  of  earth,  it  was 
necessary  for  him  to  conceal  it  from  the  men  living  in 
the  earth-concept ;  but,  when  the  time  had  arrived  when 
Saul  could  be  approached  and  awakened.  He  appeared 
to  him  in  the  bright  and  shining  glory  of  His  individual- 
ity. 

Thus  we  see,  that  man  must  become  conscious-indi- 
viduality before  he  is  a  master  in  the  fullness  and  com- 
pleteness of  Mastership. 

Jesus  Christ  took  birth  in  the  human  family  and  lived 
amidst  the  men  of  earth  and  gave  a  message  full,  com- 
plete and  wonderful.  It  is  a  message  to  every  degree  of 
that  awakened  concept  of  Spirituality.  He  worked  out 
every  detail  of  death,  resurrection  and  ascension,  here, 
before  the  men  of  earth,  for  their  benefit. 

He  is  the  Saviour  of  all  who  will  hear  and  heed  His 
teachings.  However,  man  himself  must  become  a  saviour 
and  walk  in  the  Path  and  step  in  the  foot-steps  of  Jesus 
Christ  ere  he  is  redeemed  and  reaches  the  place  where  he 
is  freed  entirely  from  the  carnal  dream  of  illusions  and 
shadows. 

It  is  when  man  has  traveled  far  indeed,  yea,  is  nearing 
the  Father's  House,  man's  destination,  that  he  begins  to 
see  that  it  is  not  through  dissolution  or  separation  that 
he  reaches  Home,  but  through  and  by  unity.  This  unity 
first  comes  into  the  mind,  and  there  is  the  intellectual 
conception  of  the  At-one-ment  with  the  Father.  Then 
there  will  dawn  into  the  mind,  that  necessarily,  there 
must  come  about  the  consciousness  of  individuality  here 
and  now.  If  it  is  possible  for  man  to  understandingly 
find  himself  clothed  upon  with  his  Spirit-Form  here  on 
this  plane  of  action,  as  Jesus  proved  by  working  it  out  on 


382  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

this  plane,  where  those  living  here  could  do  likewise  ^ 
then  the  last  and  greatest  enemy  to  man,  death,  can  be 
met,  faced  and  mastered  by  man.  When  this  is  accom- 
plished he  is  conscious  of  his  individuality. 

It  is  an  intellectual  concept  until  the  Spirit,  the  heart 
of  man,  is  touched  into  the  consciousness  of  Immortality. 
The  heart,  being  the  center  of  the  body,  begins  to  quicken 
its  whole  domain.  When  the  mind  unites  with  the  heart, 
knowledge  and  understanding  are  set  into  action  and 
man  becomes  conscious  of  his  Divine  Perfection  and 
knows  that  he  dwells  in  Divine  Perfection.  Then  man 
stands  alone  with  God  and  lovingly  abides  in  His  tender, 
strong  and  harmonious  Presence,  at  Home  in  the  Father's 
House. 

In  the  Conscious  Immortality  of  man's  Divine  Indi- 
viduality, there  is  the  ecstasy  of  Bliss  and  abiding  peace ; 
and  man  dwells  in  that  glorious  abode  of  the  Soul,  where 
man  walks  the  golden  streets  of  the  New  Jerusalem  and 
roams  over  the  green  fields  of  Paradise ;  and,  from  a  con- 
scious heart  of  Love,  graciously  responds  to  the  smiling 
face  of  every  flower  as  it  sways  in  the  soft  zephyr  of 
Paradise. 


PART  TWO 


DEDICATION. 

Dedicated  to  all  men  who  are  nbar- 
ING  THE  Mount  op  Transfiguration.  By 
the  Spirit  op  the  Infinite,  which  is 
revealing  these  deep  truths  to  the 
men  op  earth. 

**I  AM  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  begin- 


886 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  SONG  OF  THE  SOUL 

IN  the  green  fields,  beautiful  dales  and  on  the  moun- 
tains grand  the  music  which  floats  to  the  inner  ear  is 
that  concord  of  sweet  sounds  from  the  Infinite  Harp. 
Being  the  Harp  of  many  strings,  its  music  is  so  modu- 
lated, that  in  it  rhythm  reaches  each  ear  in  the  key 
needed,  that  man  may  be  blessed. 

This  music  which  is  wafted  over  the  strings  of  the  In- 
finite Harp  to  the  ear  of  man  in  the  different  degrees  of 
his  awakened  state, — through  the  soft  breezes  as  they 
murmur  sweet  and  low  at  even-tide  or  through  the 
rhythm  in  the  roar  of  the  great  cataracts,  in  the  majesty 
of  the  whispering  of  the  waves  as  they  embrace  the 
shores,  in  the  stillness  of  the  mountains,  in  the  song  of 
the  birds  or  in  the  voice  of  man, — is  the  message  of  God 
to  the  Soul  of  man. 

Without  this  music  upon  the  Harp  of  many  strings, 
man  would  pass  even  farther  out  into  the  mists,  into  the 
illusions  of  earth ;  but  the  music  of  the  Spheres  is  ever 
sounding  sweet,  musical  and  clear  throughout  Infinity. 

It  is  the  Soul  of  the  Infinite-God,  whispering  sweet 
lullabies  to  His  children  who  are  dwelling  in  the  carnal- 
concept,  that  they,  even  when  they  at  first  become 
aroused,  may  be  assured  of  the  Father-Mother-God's 
Presence  and  Loving  Care. 

When  man  fully  awakens,  he  hears  this  soft  clear 
music  and  his  Soul  responds  to  the  song  of  the  Infinite 
Soul  and  he  becomes  conscious  of  the  Living  God. 

As  long  as  man's  Soul  is  in  "Tune  with  the  Infinite" 

387 


388  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

he  can  walk  the  earth  in  the  ecstasy  of  being  in  con- 
scious rapport  with  the  Infinite  Harp.  Then  harmony- 
can  express  in  and  through  him  in  song  and  verse,  in 
the  artist's  brush  or  in  anything  his  hand  finds  to  do; 
be  it  filling  the  place  of  the  farmer  boy,  following  the 
plow  and  driving  home  the  cow;  or  the  shepherd  lad  as 
he  patiently  tends  the  herds  and  flocks  by  day  and  at 
night  carefully  confines  them  in  their  fold;  or  the 
miner,  as  he  uses  pick  and  shovel  deep  down  in  the 
bowels  of  the  earth;  or  the  merchant  in  his  house  of 
business;  or  the  banker  amidst  his  gold;  or  the  house- 
wife, who  patiently  from  day  to  day  does  those  things, 
in  contentment,  which  are  for  her  hands  to  do. 

As  long  as  man  is  in  conscious  rapport  with  the  In- 
finite and  his  heart  beats  in  unison  with  the  Infinite 
Heart  attuned  in  Love  and  his  Soul  sings  the  song  of 
the  Infinite  Soul  and  his  mind  is  a  branch  of  the  Infinite 
Intelligence,  knowing  naught  but  of  God,  he  breathes 
in  rhythm  with  the  Infinite  Breath  and  perceives  what 
a  blessing  God  has  bestowed  upon  the  race. 

When  man  stands  upon  the  Mount  of  Transfigura- 
tion, he  is  in  rhythm  with  the  Infinite  Harp  and  appre- 
ciates the  music  as  it  floats  to  him  over  the  different 
strings  as  they  vibrate  and  voice  God's  Truth  within 
his  Soul. 

When  man  is  so  consumed  with  appreciation  that 
he  listens  for  any  note  that  may  be  the  nearest  to  his 
ear  and  thankfully  responds  with  joyous  rapture,  he 
has  become  an  individual  harp.  Every  atom  of  his 
being  is  en  rapport  with  the  Harp  of  God  and  he  is  so 
harmoniously  attuned  with  love,  peace  and  satisfaction, 
that  he  vibrates  in  conscious  rhythm  in  the  Scientiflc 
Law  of  Action,  which  is  God  in  Action.  When  man,  a 
manifestation  of  God,  rhythmatically  abides  in  conscious 
Love,  Peace  and  Contentment  in  the  place  where  he  is, 
it  is  to  him  as  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration  and  Divine 


The  Song  of  the  Soul  389 

Satisfaction  is  his  in  abiding  consciousness,  and  he  sees 
its  expression  everywhere. 

This  state  which  we  have  described  is  not  that  inde- 
finable one  the  poets'  songs  have  conveyed  as  being  be- 
yond death,  but  one  into  which  man  can  come  while 
living  here  upon  the  earth. 

Man  can  be  so  filled  with  the  consciousness  of  bliss 
which  he  has  gained  through  perception,  insight  and 
illumination,  that  he  can  dwell  in  the  abode  of  the 
awakened  Soul,  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  even 
while  his  dwelling  place  is  humble,  even  the  most  lowly 
of  the  dwelling  places  of  the  men  of  earth.  Being  a 
Master,  he  cannot  be  disturbed  by  his  dwelling  place, 
be  it  low  and  humble  or  the  most  magnificent  one  upon 
the  earth. 

Not  the  outer  things  nor  environments  have  any 
power  to  disturb  a  Master ;  he  has  gained  his  Freedom ; 
he  is  emancipated  from  the  thraldom  of  their  domi- 
nance. 

On  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  man's  cross  which 
he  has  carried  from  his  awakening  is  transmuted  from 
the  cross  of  burden  into  the  illumined  cross,  ''The 
Christ,"  and  man  is  transformed  into  that  brightness 
which  expresses  the  Infinite. 

On  that  Mount,  in  the  light  of  the  brightness  of  God, 
man  stands  in  conscious  at-one-ment  with  the  Father 
and  he  has  clear  understanding  concerning  the  Father- 
Mother,  concerning  Aum,  the  impersonal  God,  and  he 
reverently  communes  with  Jehovah-God,  our  Father,  as 
Jesus  Christ  did. 

Jesus  stood  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration.  Through 
prayer  He  communed  with  the  Father-Mother  and 
talked  with  those  whom  the  Father  sent  to  Him  to  in- 
struct Him  concerning  this  ordeal  through  which  He 
was  soon  to  pass, — His  death,  burial,  resurrection  and 
ascension —  and  the  continuation  of  His  ministry  after 
His  ascension,  a  very  important  part,  indeed,  of  His 
ministry. 


390  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

''And  after  six  days  Jesus  taketh  with  Him  Peter 
and  James  and  John,  and  leadeth  them  up  into  an  high 
mountain  apart  by  themselves;  and  He  was  transfig- 
ured before  them. ' '    St.  Mark  9 :2. 

''And  His  raiment  became  shining,  exceeding  white 
as  snow;  so  as  no  fuller  on  earth  can  white  them.'* 
St.  Mark  9:3. 

"And  there  appeared  unto  them  Elias  with  Moses: 
and  they  were  talking  with  Jesus."    St.  Mark  9:4. 

"And  there  was  a  cloud  that  overshadowed  them; 
and  a  voice  came  out  of  the  cloud,  saying,  'This  is  my 
beloved  Son;  hear  Him.'  "    St.  Mark  9:7. 

"And  as  they  came  down  from  the  mountain,  He 
charged  them  that  they  should  tell  no  man  what  things 
they  had  seen,  till  the  Son  of  Man  were  risen  from  the 
dead.    St.  Mark  9:9. 

"And  they  asked  Him,  saying,  'Why  say  the  scribes 
that  Elias  must  come  first?'  "    St.  Mark  9:11. 

"And  He  answered,  and  told  them,  'Elias  verily 
Cometh  first  and  restoreth  all  things;  and  how  it  is 
written  of  the  Son  of  Man  that  he  must  suffer  many 
things,  and  be  set  at  naught."    St.  Mark  9:12. 

"But  I  say  unto  you,  That  Elias  is  indeed  come,  and 
they  have  done  unto  him  what  so  ever  they  listed,  as  it 
is  written  of  him."    St.  Mark  9:13. 

Jesus  Christ  was  not  for  Himself  alone,  working  out 
that  great  problem  of  life  where  He  had  arrived  at  His 
finishing  place  upon  His  Path ;  therefore.  He  took  with 
Him  as  witnesses,  Peter,  James  and  John,  that  they, 
after  seeing  with  their  own  eyes  His  transformation 
into  the  brightness  of  God's  glory,  could  reveal  this  to 
the  men  of  earth,  when  the  right  time  arrived. 

As  Jesus  solved  His  own  problem  which  extricated 
Him  from  the  web  of  carnality.  He  ever  had  witnesses, 
so  that  the  men  of  earth  when  they  arrived  at  the  ripen- 
ing cycle  of  their  ongoing  could  see  that  He  did  this, 
and  by  studying  His  message,  and  imbibing  its  Spirit, 


The  Song  of  the  Soul  391 

they  could  learn  how  to  turn  from  the  broad  road,  which 
lies  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  humanity 
and  enter  upon  the  narrow  and  steep  Path  which  leads 
straight  up  the  mountain  side  out  and  away  from  the 
carnal-concept  of  humanity. 

If  Jesus  Christ  had  not  met  and  mastered  every  law 
which  binds  man  to  the  wheel  of  carnal  illusions, — even 
the  last  and  greatest  enemy  to  mankind,  death — He 
would  not  stand  a  solitary  figure  in  the  foreground  of 
the  centuries, — which  have  passed  since  history  has  been 
written — "The  Master'^  among  all  the  great  saviours, 
whom  God's  Infinite  Love  has  sent  to  earth  to  give  the 
Light  in  degree  in  which  the  men  of  earth  could  receive 
it.  They  could  receive  only  according  to  the  degree 
of  their  unfoldment  and  the  period  of  the  cycle  in 
which  they  lived. 

No  other  one  gave  the  fullness  of  God's  Eternal  Truth 
as  Jesus  gave  it  direct  to  the  individual,  so  clear  and 
strong,  that  the  fully  awakened  man  can  see  clearly, 
"even  though  he  runs."  When  he  understands  and 
applies  the  principle  which  Jesus  taught  and  is  Spirit- 
ually attuned  as  Jesus  was  to  the  Great  Heart  of  the 
Father  he  can  consciously  and  understandingly  talk 
with  the  Father,  and  can  step  aside  from  the  wheel 
which  ever  rolls  along  the  broad  road,  which  winds  in 
and  out  through  carnality,  which  composes  humanity. 

When  man  steps  aside  in  conscious  understanding 
from  the  carnal  mind,  its  beliefs,  fears,  superstitions 
and  doubts,  and  permits  his  carnal  mind  to  become 
merged  into  the  Divine-Mind,  he  stands  upon  the  Mount 
of  Transfiguration,  and  the  raiment  which  is  transfig- 
ured is  his  body.  He  then  stands  a  conscious  redeemed 
Son  of  God,  an  immortal,  and  will  walk  the  earth  as 
one.  Even  here  we  have  the  example  of  Jesus  Christ 
in  His  every-day  life.  When  he  came  down  from  the 
mountain  (the  high  state  of  Conscious  Understanding 
and  Realization),  He  began  His  work  among  mankind, 


392  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

for  their  good,  not  His.  He  taught  His  disciples  the 
great  Truth  (as  much  of  it  as  they  could  hear),  as  they 
came  down  from  the  mountain,  and  when  He  reached 
the  multitudes,  healed  the  lad  which  had  a  dumb  spirit. 
Jesus '  disciples  had  failed  in  healing  the  lad ;  and  when 
the  father  informed  Jesus  that  he  had  taken  his  son  to 
Jesus'  disciples  and  they  had  failed  in  healing  him,  "He 
answereth  him  and  saith,  '0  faithless  generation,  how 
long  shall  I  be  with  you.  How  long  shall  I  suffer  you? 
Bring  him  unto  me.'  "    St.  Mark  9:19. 

"Jesus  said  unto  him,  'If  thou  canst  believe,  all  things 
are  possible  to  him  that  believeth.'  "    St.  Mark  9:23. 

When  Jesus'  disciples  asked  Him  why  they  could 
not  heal  the  lad,  Jesus  answered: 

"And  He  said  unto  them,  'This  kind  can  come  forth 
by  nothing,  but  by  prayer  and  fasting.'  "  St.  Mark  9:29. 

Man  will  know  the  Truth,  yea,  "the  whole  Truth" 
and  have  understanding,  clear,  strong  and  perfect,  of 
the  principle  of  the  working  hypothesis  of  Jesus  Christ's 
teaching  and  the  love  of  God  so  strong  in  his  heart  that 
devotion  and  meditation  are  sweet  in  the  trysting  times 
of  each  and  every  day;  and  he  will  walk  the  earth  a 
conscious  son  of  God  when  he  stands  upon  the  Mount 
of  Transfiguration,  and  all  men  must  stand  there  before 
they  are  in  consciousness  forever  free  from  the  wheel 
of  carnal  life. 

Let  all  awakened  men  appreciate  all  the  saviours 
whom  Infinite  Love,  Our  Father,  has  sent  to  enlighten 
the  men  of  earth ;  but  let  all  awakened  ones,  also,  appre- 
ciate The  Master,  Jesus  Christ,  who  gave  the  fullness, 
the  finishing  lessons  of  the  great  Truth  to  man  for  man 's 
benefit. 

A  joyous  blessing  and  blessed  privilege  it  is  to  stand 
on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration  and  consicously  talk 
with  Jesus,  our  Elder  Brother,  and  His  assistants  who 
are  assisting  us,  as  Moses  and  Elias  were  assisting  Jesus 
when  they  appeared  to  Him  on  the  Mount  of  Transfig- 
uration; and  as  we  stand  there  in  that  concept  of  our- 


The  Song  of  the  Soul 

selves,  and  of  the  Real  as  it  is,  and  carnality  as  it  is, 
we  will  also  hear  the  voice  of  the  Father,  speaking  from 
out  the  cloud — God's  great  Glory — saying,  ''This  is 
my  beloved  son;  hear  him/' 

Then  it  is,  even  when  man  stands  apart  from  those 
who  are  living  in  the  carnal  concept,  in  fellowship  with 
those  whom  the  Father  has  sent  to  assist  him  in  solving 
unto  the  final  finishing  his  problem,  he  is  in  tune  with 
the  Infinite  Harp  so  perfectly  that  he  hears  every  note 
as  it  touches  the  different  strings  of  the  Infinite  Harp ; 
and  its  music  is  musical,  melodious  and  sweet  to  his 
ear,  because  he  has  learned  the  Oneness  of  Life.  His 
Love  having  as  he  climbed  up  the  mountain  side  become 
merged  into  God-Love,  he  despises  not  the  low  and 
heavy  notes  as  they  strike  their  key  on  that  string  of 
God's  Harp;  nor  does  he  go  into  ecstasy  over  the  high, 
soft,  sweet  notes  as  they  sound  their  place  on  the  sound- 
ing-board of  the  Infinite,  because  he  has  learned  that 
it  requires  them  all  to  complete  the  music  of  the  Spheres, 
which  is  continuously  in  expression  upon  the  Harp  of 
Many  Strings.  Man,  thus  standing,  can  place  himself 
en  rapport  with  the  music  of  the  Spheres  which  is  the 
Lullaby  of  the  Infinite.  He  can  vibrate  in  rhythm 
therewith.  In  this  blissful  state  of  consciousness  he  is 
at  Home  in  his  Father's  House  and,  according  to  the 
degree  of  his  intensity,  will  his  abiding  consicousness 
remain. 

For  man  to  reach  the  heights  and  stand  upon  the 
Mount  of  Transfiguration  it  is  necessary  for  him  to 
keep  his  mind  stayed  upon  God  and  his  heart  in  con- 
scious Love  to  God. 

Man,  even  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  neces- 
sarily must  be  alert,  lest,  when  he  descends  and  takes 
up  his  daily  work  among  humanity,  he  permit  the 
illusions  of  carnality  to  become  real  to  him  again. 

If  man  is  thoroughly  anchored  in  God,  he  will  be  so 
conscious  of  the  AU-ness  and  Perfection  of  the  Infinite, 
that  he  will  see  only  that  Perfection  in  expressions  in 


394  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

all  the  different  expressions  about  him.  He  then  visions 
the  shadows,  called  disease,  pain,  sorrow,  limitation 
and  poverty  into  nothing.  These  can  never  stand  be- 
fore his  vision  as  long  as  his  mind  and  heart  is  stayed 
upon  God. 

Man,  in  and  through  his  mind,  learns  to  know  the 
Truth  and  gains  the  knowledge  and  understanding 
which  enables  him  to  extricate  himself  sufficiently,  so 
that  he  can  climb  the  mountain  of  Truth  and  stand  on 
the  Mount  of  Transfiguration.  This  is  not  intellectual 
illumination  only;  but  this  is  the  expression  of  God, 
Life  and  Light  in  and  through  his  body,  as  well  as  in 
and  through  his  mind. 

To  know  a  thing  and  not  express  it  is  of  no  value  to 
oneself,  nor  to  one's  fellowman,  as  it  dies  in  its  birth 
and  can  do  no  one  any  good. 

The  heart  becomes  at  first  stirred  with  emotion,  when 
the  mind  begins  to  understand  the  Truth ;  but  we  read 
in  the  scriptures  that  man  must  have  an  understanding 
heart,  also.  The  understanding  in  the  heart  is  the  Love 
which  is  ''Molten  Gold,''  the  Infinite  Love  in  expres- 
sion in  the  individual  heart.  Then  the  heart,  too,  is  en 
rapport  with  the  Great  Heart  of  God.  Then  man  is 
Spiritually  attuned  to  the  Infinite  Heart  and  in  rhyth- 
matic  bliss  vibrates  in  conscious  rapport  with  the  In- 
finite Harp.  Being  a  key  on  this  Harp,  he  knows  that 
the  Infinite  music  is  harmoniously  and  rhythmatically 
in  action  in  and  through  him;  he  in  it  and  it  in  him. 
He  abides  in  the  center  of  the  Harp  and  his  ear  is  ever 
attuned  to  its  soft,  sweet  melody. 

The  Infinite,  being  The  Individual  Harp,  man,  an 
expression  of  it,  is  an  individual  harp  and  is  perfectly 
attuned  to  the  Infinite  Harp,  when  he  stands  on  the 
Mount  of  Transfiguration. 

And  man,  the  one  who  is  consicous-individuality, 
within  whose  being  the  holy  wedlock  has  taken  place, 
permits  the  Music  of  the  Spheres, — the  song  of  the 
Over-Soul  to  the  individual  Soul,  to  vibrate  through 


The  Song  of  the  Soul  395 

him,  as  he  laves  in  conscious  rapport  therewith.  In 
this  abiding  consciousness  man  perceives  that  there  is 
naught  but  God,  the  Infinite.  Then  man  has  finished 
his  work.  Then  he  can  clearly  perceive  that  ''To  Be'* 
is  his  portion. 

The  joy,  grandeur,  ecstasy  and  bliss  which  this  man 
in  that  consciousness  enjoys  none  can  describe.  To  ex- 
perience it  is  the  only  comprehension  of  it. 

The  Song  of  the  Over-Soul,  soft,  musical  and  clear,  is 
ever  whispering  Love,  Peace,  Harmony  and  Divine  Sat- 
isfaction; and  the  illumined  one  hears  and  sweetly  ap- 
preciates it. 

When  man  learns  to  love  the  silence,  ''The  secret 
place  of  the  Most  High,"  he  will  joyously  and  thank- 
fully abide  there  and  his  Soul  will  sing  the  soft,  sweet 
melodies  of  Eternity  as  he  hears  them,  dwelling  at  home 
in  the  center  of  the  Infinite  Harp. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  LULLABY  OF  THE  INFINITE 

OUT  in  the  mountain  stillness  amidst  the  trees 
which  grow  there,  where  the  bustle  and  con- 
fusion of  the  busy  city  is  left  far  behind,  man, 
if  he  understands  the  teaching  which  is  being  given  in 
this  book,  can,  in  and  through  understanding,  stand 
erect  in  that  silent-stillness  and,  with  his  ear  attuned 
to  the  Infinite  Harp,  listen  to  it  in  the  silent  chamber  of 
his  being  and  hear  the  lullaby  of  the  Infinite  as  it  plays 
through  the  leaves  and  the  branches  of  the  trees;  and 
it  will  speak  such  peace.  Love,  harmony  and  gentleness 
in  his  Soul  that  he  will  rest  in  faith  and  trust  in  the 
nearness  of  the  Invisible  Presence,  even  as  the  babe 
when  it  lays  its  head  upon  its  mother's  bosom  and  list- 
ens to  her  lullaby  until  it  trustingly  falls  to  sleep  in 
the  mother's  care. 

The  mother,  feeling  that  loving  confidence  in  which 
her  babe  quitely  falls  to  sleep,  keeping  faith  with  her 
trusting  child,  ever  remains  near  and  watches  over  it 
lovingly  and  tenderly  while  it  rests  in  slumberland. 

When  man  is  awakened  from  the  sound  sleep  which 
began  to  overtake  him  when  he  dwelt  in  the  Garden  of 
Eden,  and  learns  to  get  still  within  himself,  seeking  for 
the  silent  chamber  of  the  Infinite,  he  will  feel  harmony 
begin  to  become  manifest  within  him.  Then,  soon  his 
ear  will  catch  the  soft,  low  rhythmic  murmur  in  which, 
as  he  listens,  he  will  hear  the  lullaby  of  the  Infinite. 
It  quiets  him  and,  if  he  will  master  all  confusions  in 
his  own  mind  and  body,  he  will  become  so  enraptured 

396 


The  Lullaby  op  the  Infinite  397 

by  the  sweet  lullaby  that  he  will  lay  his  head  in  loving 
trust  and  faith  upon  the  Bosom  of  the  Loving  Father. 
As  he  listens  earnestly  to  the  soft  sweet  lullaby,  he  loses 
consciousness  of  the  confusions  of  the  outer  life  and 
falls  asleep  in  the  Arm  of  Infinite  Love, — ^not  the  sleep 
of  death,  but  of  faith,  trust  and  Love. 

As  the  human  mother,  feeling  the  faith,  love  and 
trust  of  her  little  one  falling  asleep  in  her  arms,  ever 
remains  near  and  covers  it  with  her  loving  and  watch- 
ful care,  so  the  Infinite,  our  Father-Mother,  (feeling 
the  love,  faith  and  trustful  confidence  of  the  awakened 
man  who,  hearing  the  Infinite  lullaby,  serenely  lays  his 
head  upon  the  Bosom  of  Infinite  Love)  will  with  Loving 
Care  watch  over,  guard,  sustain  and  protect. 

Lessons  there  are  at  every  step  the  awakened  man 
takes,  wafted  to  him  over  the  Harp  of  many  Strings. 

In  the  darkness  and  stillness  of  night,  there  is  writ- 
ten a  lesson  strong  and  deep,  as  we  look  to  the  blue 
vault  above  us  and  see  the  innumerable  stars  and, 
through  understanding,  know  that  God  is  in  and  through 
each  one,  and  is  in  expression  there  in  the  star-spaces 
as  here  in  the  heart  of  man.  As  we  look  out  into  the 
vastness,  greatness  and  grandeur  of  it,  we  bow  our 
heads  in  love,  appreciation  and  adoration  for  the  In- 
finite,— AUM,  who  holds  all  of  these  and  the  myriad 
other  systems  of  universes  in  His  hand  and  knows  not 
even  of  their  weight,  so  little  are  these  expressions  in 
comparison  to  His  AU-Ness. 

In  that  stillness  which  envelops  man  as  he  there 
stands,  lost  in  contemplation  of  the  vastness  and  near- 
ness of  it,  he  hears  the  lullaby  of  the  Father-Mother. 

When  man  is  securely,  through  understanding,  abid- 
ing in  the  ** Secret  Place  of  the  Most  High'*  and  listen- 
ing with  love  and  trust  to  the  voice  of  his  Heavenly 
Father-Mother  singing  the  LuUaby  to  his  Soul,  he  knows 
he  is  at  **Home,'' — the  place  where  the  Father  has  ever 
desired  man  to  be. 

When  man  in  consciousness  was  in  a  far  country,  far 


398  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

away  from  home,  as  he  believed,  even  then  the  lullaby 
of  the  Infinite  was  softly  whispering,  ''Come  home! 
Come  home !  * '  As  this  lullaby  is  infinite  and  everywhere 
present,  so  the  Home  of  man  is  everywhere  present. 

Then  we  perceive  that,  when  man  awakens,  he  is  at 
"Home,"  and  the  Father  is  there  and  man  can  lay  his 
head  trustingly  upon  His  Bosom  and  He  will  enfold 
him  with  His  Everlasting  Arm.  The  Infinite  Care  is 
everywhere  present,  and  no  man  can  drift  away  from 
His  Loving  Care. 

Ever  and  aye,  the  Infinite  lullaby  is  singing  soft  and 
low. 

As  man  ascends  the  Mountain  of  Transfiguration,  he 
learns  to  stand  still  in  action  and  listen  to  the  soft 
singing  rhythm  of  the  music  of  the  Spheres.  He  lets 
his  mind  dwell  in  contemplation  upon  it  and,  as  he  con- 
tinues to  do  so,  the  carnal  dream  gradually  vanishes 
and  in  its  place  he  visions  the  Immortal  Universe,  filled 
as  it  is  with  God's  Immortal  Creation.  As  he  continues 
to  listen  to  the  Immortal  Music,  he  becomes  in  accord 
with  it.  As  he  continues  to  vibrate  in  harmony  with 
it,  he  will  become  conscious  of  his  own  immortality  and 
consciously  stand  an  immortal  in  the  midst  of  the  Im- 
mortal Universe.  The  lullaby  of  the  Infinite  still 
whispers  soft,  sweet  and  low;  and  throughout  Eternity 
the  conscious  immortal,  even  though  he  strays  from 
planet  to  planet,  ever  hears  his  Father's  voice  softly 
singing,  that  man  may  never  again  forget  His  Presence 
from  which  he  can  no  more  depart. 

0,  man,  why  art  thou  afraid  and  distrustful  when 
thou  art  in  reality  ever  in  the  very  center  of  God? 
Being  an  individual  manifestation  of  the  Infinite,  the 
center  of  God  is  ever  within  thee. 

Then  speak  thou  to  the  Center  of  the  Infinite  which 
is  within  thy  heart.  The  Infinite  will  hear  and  Infinite 
Intelligence  and  Love  will  respond  in  answer  to  thy 


The  Lullaby  of  the  Infinite  399 

prayer  at  any  place  where  thy  prayer  is  voicing  for 
answer. 

A  great  devotion,  which  the  awakened  man  can  be- 
stow upon  the  Father,  is  to  understandingly  know 
Him  and  recognize  His  ever-present  Presence;  then  in 
Love,  faith  and  trust  to  abide  in  conscious  action,  "At 
Home^*  in  the  Father's  House. 

It  matters  not  then  what  cares,  anxieties  or  confusions 
may  present  themselves  for  recognition.  Just  remem- 
ber that  you  are  at  Home  and  retire  into  the  silent 
chamber  of  your  Soul  and  there  commune  with  the 
Father.  Be  stiU  and  listen  to  the  lullaby  of  the  In- 
finite and  it  will  speak  peace  to  your  Soul. 

There  in  that  Peaceful  Presence  abide,  and  under- 
standingly know  that  there  is  naught  for  you  to  now 
do  but  *  *  To  Be ' '  and  let  the  Infinite  live  in  and  through 
you  and  use  you,  as  the  breeze  moves  and  sways  the 
branches  of  the  trees,  though  they  are  never  disjoined 
from  their  source, — the  Father-tree. 

List  to  the  sweet  lullaby !  It  is  ever  whispering,  ' '  Be 
ye  still  and  know.*'  ''He  that  dwelleth  in  the  secret 
place  of  the  Most  High  shall  abide  under  the  shadow 
of  the  Almighty. ' '  He  then  hears  the  lullaby  of  the  In- 
finite continuously! 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  SILENCE  OF  THE  INFINITE 

THE  Infinite  Silence  is  so  sublime  that  the  carnal 
man  has  no  conception  of  its  silent  sublimity. 
Only  the  awakened  man  can  recognize  it,  and 
that  according  to  his  degree  of  awakened  concept. 

"We  read  of  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High,  of  the 
silent  chamber  of  the  Soul  and  of  the  awakened  man 
who  endeavors  to  be  still  within  himself,  that  he  may 
perceive  and  recognize  the  Silence  of  the  Infinite. 

It  is  the  awakened  man,  the  one  who  is  alert  in  under- 
standing action,  whom  we  are  addressing  concerning 
the  Silence  of  the  Infinite. 

We  read  in  the  Bible  that  the  Temple  of  Solomon  was 
built  without  sound.  The  beautiful  and  magnificent 
Temple  became  manifest  in  outer  expression  here  upon 
earth  without  the  sound  of  the  hammer!  This  is  sym- 
bolical of  God's  handiwork.  The  great  forest  grew 
without  a  sound  from  the  invisible  Life  which  began  to 
express  in  the  earth  into  the  giant  trees  which  man  ad- 
mires as  monuments  of  strength  and  endurance. 

The  mountains  raise  their  snow-capped  heads  and 
stand  still  in  serenity;  and  not  a  sound  is  heard. 

From  the  little  brown  bulb  buried  in  the  ground  a 
tiny  green  shoot  peeps  out  from  its  cloistered  cell,  and, 
in  the  rapture  of  being  in  the  sunlight,  expands  into 
great  green  leaves  and  a  beautiful  white  flower  and  that 
which  man  calls  a  lily  comes  into  expression  without  one 
sound. 

Let  man  consider  the  greatness  of  the  workmanship, 

400 


The  Silence  of  the  Infinite  401 

which  brought  forth  without  a  sound,  the  great  green 
leaves  and  the  beautiful  white  lily. 

God  operates  in  silence  in  the  center  of  man,  which 
is  the  silent  chamber  of  man's  Soul,  and  man  in  his  four- 
fold nature  responds  and  in  silence  moves  along  into  his 
place,  even  as  the  lily  came  forth  and  silently  fills  its 
place. 

The  music  of  the  Sphere  is  silent  to  the  Soul;  yet 
clearly  does  the  Soul  hear  its  majestic  melodies. 

The  '^ Still  Small  Voice"  of  the  Infinite  is  silent;  yet 
the  Soul  hears  the  lullaby  of  the  Infinite  in  its  silent 
rhythm  and  consoling  love. 

The  Silence  of  the  Infinite  is  the  language  of  the  Soul. 
In  the  stillness  of  the  silence,  the  awakened  Soul  rests 
in  conscious  at-one-ment  with  the  Silence  of  the  In- 
finite, which  is  Aum,  and  listens  to  the  soundless  rhythm 
of  the  Love  of  God  as  it  brings  its  message  to  the  Soul  of 
man. 

The  awakened  man  dwells  understandingly  in  the 
Great  Silence  and,  in  the  silence  within  him,  lives  in 
peace  and  contentment  and  hears  not  one  discordant 
note  in  all  ''God's  Holy  Mountain." 

Then  be  ye  still  in  the  mystic-silence,  and  ye  shall 
there  learn  to  know  the  Infinite  Stillness  and  become 
conscious  of  contentment  which  is  merged  into  Divine 
Satisfaction  in  the  Silence  of  the  Infinite. 


CHAPTER  IV 

SUBLIMITY. 

AS  man  looks  into  the  heart  of  the  Lily,  he  sees 
there  an  exquisiteness  which  cannot  be  described ; 
and  man  exclaims,  "It  is  sublime!'* 

In  the  center  of  the  rose,  there  is  an  indefinable  some- 
thing of  which  man,  not  knowing  how  to  portray, 
simply  says,  **It  is  sublime.*' 

As  man  looks  out  over  and  through  nature  in  its 
different  moods,  his  Soul  responds  with  one  assent: 
"Sublimity!" 

As  man  looks  into  the  eyes  of  man,  his  brother,  when 
he  meets  him  upon  life's  highway,  understanding  that 
the  eyes  are  the  windows  of  the  Soul  and  seeing  the  life 
which  is  God-Life,  expressing  there,  he  knows  that  he 
is  looking  into  something  of  the  sublimity  of  God. 
When  he  calls  to  memory  the  working  of  the  Great  Si- 
lence, from  which  man  came  forth  into  expression  and 
to  which  he  will  return,  letting  his  mind  dive  deep  into 
that  great  ocean  of  Silence,  which,  in  its  invisible  pres- 
ence lies  so  near  to  man  and  is  that  deep  Silence  which 
forever  transcends,  yet  forever  expresses  in  man,  he 
exclaims,  "This  is  sublimity!" 

Let  us  dwell  a  few  moments  upon  the  Sublimity  of 
God's  Creation,  upon  that  which  is  God's  self  in  man- 
ifestation. From  the  tiny  grain  of  sand  to  the  earth, 
the  sun,  the  moon  and  stars  we  look  and  see  amidst  all 
these  "Man,  the  crowning  Glory  of  God,"  to  whom  God 
gave  dominion  over  the  earth  and  all  that  therein  is. 

When  we  perceive  the  sublimity  of  man  in  his  divine 

402 


Sublimity  403 

perfection  and  the  Sublimity  of  God,  in  Whom  man 
lives,  moves  and  has  his  being,  we  pause  in  awe  before 
it.  However,  if  man  stands  there  in  awe  of  the  Sub- 
limity of  the  grandeur  of  God,  the  Creator  and  of  man, 
the  created,  he  will  become  stagnant  and,  just  as  the 
ripe  apple  when  it  falls  to  the  ground  lies  there  and  is 
absorbed  into  the  earth,  so  stagnation  is  absorbed  and 
becomes  a  no-thing. 

The  divine  man,  he  who  is  the  image  and  likeness  of 
God,  even  though  he  stands  in  awe  asiie  perceives  the 
Sublime  Beauty,  Greatness  and  Glory  of  God,  is  in 
conscious  action,  because  he  knows  that  he  has  pierced 
the  veil  which  hangs  just  back  of  carnality  and  stands 
in  front  of  the  Reality  of  that  which  is.  He  breathes 
the  elixir  from  that  other  clime;  he  listens  for  the 
music  which  comes  from  that  other  shore  and  which  is 
carried  to  him  over  the  soft  zephyr  which  reaches  him 
as  quietly  as  the  fleecy  clouds  float  across  the  blue  sky 
on  a  summer  day,  and  as  the  soft  spring  breeze  touches 
cheek  and  brow  he  feels  the  Sublimity  of  it. 

The  wonder,  the  beauty,  the  grandeur  and  the  glory 
of  the  Sublimity  of  God  and  His  Manifested  Creation, 
none  can  tell.  Man  must  scale  the  heights  and  pierce 
the  veil  and  there  lave  in  that  ocean  of  the  brightness 
of  God^s  Glory  ere  he  perceives  the  Sublimity  of  it. 

Then  in  the  presence  of  the  sublimity  of  that  other 
shore  (that  other  dimension)  man's  Soul,  becoming  in 
tune  with  the  Infinite  Soul,  he  sings  the  melodies  which 
he  hears  from  the  next  dimension ;  and,  as  he  sings,  his 
whole  being  vibrates  in  unison  with  the  Spiritual  Gran- 
deur and  he  recognizes  the  Sublimity  of  that  higher 
state.  He  no  more  is  satisfied  with  the  low  state  of  the 
carnal  concept;  his  eyes  at  all  times  desire  another 
glimpse  of  that  other  land  which  is  fairer  than  this; 
his  ears  are  ever  alert  that  they  may  again  hear  the 
music  from  that  fair  shore,  whose  ocean  is  the  Sublimity 
of  God's  everlasting  Beauty,  the  Beauty  of  Holiness. 


404  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

What  is  there  more  sublime  than  that  which  man  sees 
when  the  veil  is  rent  in  twain  and  he  looks  into  that 
other  dimension,  exclaiming,  *'It  is  sublime!'*  It  is 
sublimity  in  its  overwhelming  grandeur,  and  this,  where 
man  now  stands,  is  as  glow  worms  to  suns,  as  dust  upon 
the  rose  leaf,  to  the  wealth  of  all  the  glorious  blossoms 
of  summer. 

The  Sublimity  of  that  other  shore  lies  in  the  Reality 
and  Unchangeableness  of  it.  It  is  God  in  manifesta- 
tion, *  *  and  it  changes  not,  no  never ! '  *  Therefore,  when 
man  looks  upon  beauty  in  that  dimension,  it  does  not 
fade.  He  has  no  haste  to  enjoy  a  thing  today  because 
tomorrow  it  will  be  faded,  but  rests  there  in  peaceful 
contentment  as  he  sees  the  flowers  forever  fair. 

There  are  no  faded  flowers  nor  gnarled  oaks  there; 
it  is  divine  perfection;  and  man  rests  in  action  amidst 
it,  knowing  that  he,  too,  is  a  completed  being,  for  God 
pronounced  His  works  finished  and  good — and  very 
good ! 

Man,  being  created  in  the  ''Image  and  likeness  of 
God,''  in  his  divine  perfection  as  God  sees  him  expresses 
beauty,  grandeur  and  perfection, — and  these  in  their 
combined  glory  forever  express  Sublimity. 

When  man  is  sufficiently  awake  Spiritually,  as  well 
as  intellectually,  he  perceives  the  Sublimity  of  the  hand- 
iwork of  God  as  he  sees  it  expressed  all  about  him. 
He  can  then,  with  the  eye  of  vision,  pierce  the  outer 
garment  of  God,  which  is  nature,  and  see  the  Absolute 
in  all  its  exquisiteness  of  perfection  and  unchangeable- 
ness. As  man  stands  in  the  midst  of  this  and  hears  the 
soft  whisperings  of  the  lullaby  of  the  Infinite,  he  be- 
comes conscious  of  Sublimity. 

When  man  has  stood  upon  the  mountain  top  and 
visioned  the  Sublimity  of  Eternity  and  all  eternal 
things,  he  no  longer  permits  frivolity  to  enter  his  mind, 
nor  idle  words  to  fall  from  his  lips. 

In  the  contemplation  of  the  Sublimity  of  God,  man's 
Soul  rejoices.    As  he  visions  the  paradisaical  state  and 


Sublimity  405 

knows  that  his  heart  substance  is  that  of  the  Infinite 
Heart,  and  that  they  beat  as  one  Heart,  he  is  in  a  bless- 
edness beyond  telling. 

Loving  bliss  and  joyous  gratitude, — these  are  the  ex- 
pressions of  man,  when  from  the  Mountain  of  Transfig- 
uration he  views  the  landscape  o^er  and  sees  the  perfect 
expression  of  God  everywhere  and  realizes  that  it  is 
one  Eternal  day,  one  continuous  Life,  one  peace  un- 
ending and  joy  forevermore. 

Then  the  Soul  of  man  sings  a  song  sublime  and  his 
heart  responds  with  love  divine  to  Love  Divine.  Man 
stands  alone  with  God  in  the  consciousness  of  immor- 
tality, and  in  the  Sublimity  of  the  Eternality  of  the 
AU-ness  of  that  which  is. 

Amidst  green  pastures  and  fields  of  golden  grain  and 
flowers  of  different  hues  growing  along  the  path  and 
birds  singing  their  sweet  songs  and  the  rivers  flowing 
peacefully  and  the  sky's  deep  blue, — this  is  the  picture 
of  contentment  upon  which  the  illumined  man  looks 
and  exclaims,  ''How  sublime!''  Yes,  this  is  Sublimity 
itself!  and  the  Sublimity  of  the  Glory,  Beauty  and 
Greatness  of  God  abides  in  the  heart. 

We  would  that  all  men  attain  unto  the  Illumined 
concept  of  Sublimity  quickly,  that  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  speedily  become  established  upon  the  earth, 
"Even  as  it  is  in  Heaven." 


CHAPTER  V 

*' JESUS  SAT  BY  THE  SEA-SIDE.'^     ' 

4  4  rr^  HE  same  day  went  Jesus  out  of  the  house,  and 
I      sat  by  the  sea-side/'    St.  Mat.  13:1. 

**And  great  multitudes  were  gathered  unto 
Him,  so  that  He  went  into  a  ship,  and  sat;  and  the 
whole  multitude  stood  on  the  shore.'*    St.  Mat.  13:2. 

Jesus  having  come  from  His  place  of  abode  *'Sat  by 
the  sea-side/'  This  place  is  symbolical  of  the  place 
where  two  expressions  meet. 

When  the  multitude  discovered  where  Jesus  was, 
they  gathered  about  Him  and  He  went  into  a  ship  and 
sat. 

When  Jesus  sat  in  the  boat  upon  the  water.  He  had 
stepped  from  one  expression,  or  dimension,  to  another. 
He  had  launched  out  upon  the  deep,  and  from  this 
place  He  could  teach  the  message  of  the  Father  to  the 
people. 

The  multitudes  stood  on  the  sea-shore,  which  is  sym- 
bolical of  the  shifting  sands  of  time;  but  Jesus,  when 
they  called  for  Him  to  teach  them,  moved  out  from 
among  them,  and  sat  in  the  boat  upon  the  water.  Water 
is  symbolical  of  Life  Eternal,  and  from  that  separate 
state  of  concept  He  could  look  into  the  minds,  hearts, 
souls  and  bodies  of  the  assembled  multitude  and  see 
what  each  one  desired. 

To  the  Spiritually  hungry  He  gave  crumbs  of  Spir- 
itual bread;  to  the  Spiritually  thirsty  He  gave  the 
Water  of  Life;  and  the  physical  man  who  was  infirm, 
if  they  called  upon  Him,  He  healed;  and  to  the  Soul 

406 


**  Jesus  Sat  by  the  Seaside''  407 

who  was  still  bound  in  the  grave-cloths  of  illusion  until 
it  seemed  asleep,  Jesus  spoke  the  potent  words  which 
would  awaken  man.  He  told  them  they  must  ''Know 
the  Truth/' 

Thus  we  see  that  Jesus  addressed  the  four-fold  na- 
ture in  man,  according  to  the  requirements  of  the  man. 

Jesus,  with  the  eye  of  vision,  easily  discerned  the 
needs  of  those  who  came  to  Him. 

As  Jesus  sat  in  the  boat  and  taught  the  multitudes, 
He  was  consciously  in  another  dimension  from  them. 
If  He  had  stood  on  the  sands  of  the  sea-side  as  the  mul- 
titudes did,  He  could  not  have  assisted  them, — even  as 
Jesus  Himself  said,  ''If  I  be  lifted  up,  I  will  draw  all 
men  unto  me."  Thus  we  see  that  Jesus'  desire  was  to 
lift  the  people  up  from  the  teachings  of  Moses'  dispen- 
sation into  the  next  dispensation.  In  doing  this,  Jesus 
did  not  condemn  Moses,  as  no  one  would  think  of  con- 
demning the  rosebud  because  it  was  not  the  full  blown 
rose;  but  He  showed  wherein  the  scriptures  prophesied 
of  Him, — Jesus, — ^who  came  to  fulfill  the  Law  and  the 
Prophets. 

Neither  would  the  enlightened  Jesus  condemn  the 
first  dispensation  because  it  was  not  the  second. 

As  Jesus  sat  in  the  boat.  He  talked  to  the  multitudes 
from  His  Divine  concept.  In  that  state  He  was  con- 
scious of  the  divine  power  within  Him  and  that  He  was 
God  made  manifest. 

Jesus'  message  was  to  the  man  living  in  the  concept 
of  his  personality  and  believing  it  to  be  himself,  that 
he  might  awake  and  learn  to  pass  from  one  dimension 
in  his  own  concept  to  another,  to  pass  from  personality 
to  individuality. 

As  man  stands  upon  the  shore  of  time,  all  things  are 
fleeting  to  him  and  the  sands  under  his  feet  are  ever 
shifting  and  his  body  subject  to  the  whim  of  every  pass- 
ing breeze.    If  it  is  pure  and  refreshing,  he  has  health ; 


408  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

if  cold  and  bleak,  man  becomes  afflicted  by  it  and  finally 
he  gives  up  the  struggle  and  sits  despairingly  upon  the 
shifting  sands  which  lie  along  the  shore  of  the  "Water 
of  Life,  not  knowing  that  there  is  anything  but  sand. 

If  man  awakens  as  he  sits  here,  and  listens  to  the 
one  who  is  in  the  boat,  to  the  one  who  has  stepped  from 
the  shore  of  time  to  the  Water  of  Life  and  is  in  the 
understanding  of  Eternity,  and  can  catch  the  deeps  of 
the  milk  in  the  message  given,  he  will  perceive,  that 
the  one  in  the  boat  passed  over  from  those  shifting 
sands  of  one  dimension  into  the  other  dimension  of 
deep  Reality  without  passing  through  death. 

It  is  so  easy  for  the  carnal  man's  body  to  become 
heavy  and  sluggish  when  the  mind  loses  hope  and  man 
sits  down  upon  the  shifting  sands,  carried  about  by 
every  wind  of  desire  that  blows.  Death  seems  such  an 
easy  door  to  the  heavy-laden  carnal  man  who  knows 
naught  of  that  other  dimension  of  Life  and  Being  and 
Eternity;  but  the  one  sitting  in  the  boat  knows  and 
understands  the  two  states.  Jesus,  being  in  the  higher, 
having  passed  through  the  lower,  understandingly 
taught  the  multitudes  the  way  whereby  they  could  es- 
cape from  the  unstable  conditions  within  and  around 
them. 

*' Jesus  sat  by  the  sea-side."  He  had  come  out  from 
His  home  in  the  higher  realms,  that  He  might  give  the 
message  which  the  Father  desired  the  children  of  men 
to  have,  so  that  they  could  find  their  way  back  to  their 
lost  inheritance, — their  Father's  House — the  Home  from 
which  Jesus  came  when  He  took  birth  among  the  men 
of  earth  to  be  the  Way-Shower,  the  Teacher  and  Saviour. 

Jesus  proved  the  divineness  of  the  message  which  He 
was  giving  by  the  signs  following,  in  which  He  proved 
His  Love  for  His  fellowman  by  healing  their  diseases 
and  comforting  those  in  distress. 

The  boat  in  which  Jesus  sat  was  launched  out  from 
the  sandy  shore  where  the  people  were  standing,  and 
the  state  of  His  understanding  was  far  beyond  the  mul- 


**  Jesus  Sat  by  the  Seaside''  409 

titudes,  but  His  desire  was  to  lift  all  men  unto  His 
height. 

Jesus  Christ  was  the  man  and  the  message  which  He 
gave  was  from  the  Infinite  Heart.  That  message  was 
for  all  men,  as  they  arrive  at  the  place  where  they  can 
hear  the  greatness  and  completeness  of  the  message  of 
Love  sent  to  the  men  of  earth  from  the  Father-Mother, 
that  man  may  learn  that  there  is  Redemption  full  and 
complete,  not  only  for  his  Soul  after  it  withdraws  from 
the  physical  body,  but  for  the  body  also.  Jesus  told 
them  that  flesh  and  blood  could  not  enter  heaven.  Then 
it  is  clear  that  there  is  something  to  be  done  from  the 
time  man  sits  among  the  multitudes  upon  the  shifting 
sands  and  believes  his  body  of  flesh  and  blood  is  him- 
self, until  that  time  when  man  stands  a  Conscious  Re- 
deemed Son  of  the  Living  God, — ^redeemed  and  at  Home 
in  his  Father's  House. 

The  Father,  speaking  through  the  lips  of  Jesus,  when 
He  saw  a  Soul  who  had  arrived  at  the  awakening  sea- 
son, spake  the  vitalizing  words  which  awakened  them. 

The  loving  Father  within  Jesus,  seeing  the  afflicted 
ones,  healed  all  who  called  for  it.  He  unbound  the 
dumb  tongue  that  it  might  be  free  to  sing  praises  to 
the  living  God. 

When  the  multitudes  had  followed  Jesus,  seeking  to 
glean  the  golden  grains  of  Truth  as  they  fell  from  His 
lips,  so  anxious  that  they  might  learn  the  message  that 
they  looked  not  after  their  material  welfare,  and  when 
they  had  been  with  Him  some  days  without  food,  the 
Father  within  Him,  which  is  forever  at-one  with  the 
Omnipotent  One,  fed  the  people. 

Jesus,  sitting  in  the  boat  upon  the  water,  was  living 
and  His  Mind  and  Heart  functioning  far  out  in  the  In- 
finite Heart.  He,  being  understandingly  there,  could 
let  the  Father's  Love  flow  through  Him  to  bless,  feed 
and  heal  those  who  came  close  enough  to  the  fountain 
to  touch  the  hem  of  His  garment. 


410  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Jesus  made  no  distinction  in  His  healing  between 
nationalities  or  doctrinal  beliefs;  He  just  healed  them 
and  said:  *'Go,  sin  no  more,  lest  a  worse  thing  come 
upon  you/* 

There  is  a  promise  to  the  believer;  but  it  is  to  the 
believer  in  God  and  His  power  which  was  in  operation 
in  and  through  Jesus  Christ,  and  which  will  operate 
through  all  men,  when  they  reach  that  abiding  under- 
standing. 

As  man  catches  the  beauty,  greatness  and  sublimity 
of  the  message  from  the  Father,  given  through  the  lips 
of  Jesus,  and  desires  to  bring  himself  into  harmony 
with  the  Rhythm  and  Love  of  God,  he  listens  for  the 
''Still,  Small  Voice,*'  and  in  it  hears  the  Infinite  Lul- 
laby softly  whispering,  ''Abide  in  me,  and  I  will  up- 
hold you  with  my  Omnipotent  Hand.'* 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  JESUS  CHRIST. 

JESUS  CHRIST  was  so  conscious  of  His  Individ- 
uality as  He  stood  in  that  other  realm,  that  He 
retained  this  consciousness  to  a  great  degree  from 
His  birth  onward  throughout  His  ongoings  among  the 
children  of  Earth. 

The  Message,  which  the  Father  has  given  all  down 
the  ages,  has  been  given  when  man  learns  it  to  assist 
man  as  he  passes  along  the  path  through  the  Forest  of 
Illusions.  One,  now  and  then,  through  the  ages  past 
has  gleaned  the  Light  sufficiently  bright  to  perceive 
that  the  whole  Forest  is  an  illusion.  He  who  is  in  the 
bright  light,  according  to  his  understanding  of  the 
Light,  lives  in  the  Reality  and  the  great  illusion  loses 
its  power  over  him. 

Jesus  Christ,  being  the  Conscious  Son  of  God  in  ex- 
pression, would  permit  the  Father  to  express  through 
His  lips  and  give  the  message  which  could  awaken  the 
man  who  had  reached  the  edge  of  the  forest  and  had 
grown  tired  of  following  the  elusive  illusions,  just  as 
man  finally  becomes  weary  in  following  the  will-o'-the- 
wisp,  finding  that  it  is  no  light  at  all. 

The  message  which  Infinite  Love  gave  through  Jesus* 
lips  was  the  Truth  of  God's  Love  and  Care  for  man; 
and,  when  man  knows  and  Loves  God,  he  will  Love  his 
fellowman. 

In  the  Forest  of  Illusions,  man  knows  not  of  the 
Loving  Presence  of  the  Infinite;  therefore,  he  has  no 
recognition  of  the  Divine  Love  and  can  have  little  or 

411 


412  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

no  Love  in  his  heart  for  his  f ellowmen  as  he  meets  and 
associates  with  them  in  the  illusive  Forest. 

The  animal  living  in  the  forest  protects  its  own  only, 
and  to  provide  for  its  own  will  slay  any  other  animal 
which  its  strength  or  cunning  will  enable  it  to  kill. 

So  man,  while  living  in  the  depths  of  the  forest  of 
carnality,  expresses  the  animal  propensities  and  will 
continue  to  thus  express  them  as  long  as  he  is  living 
under  the  illusion,  believing  in  the  reality  of  the  illu- 
sions which  he  encounters  upon  the  winding  path  which 
leads  through  the  forest. 

Every  step  man  takes  upon  the  illusive  path  of  car- 
nality carries  him  farther  in  consciousness  away  from 
the  father's  House,  which  is  the  paradisiacal  state  of 
consciousness  which  he  had  when  he  stepped  into  the 
Garden  of  Eden. 

The  teachings  of  the  first  dispensation,  which,  by  the 
Father  was  established  through  Moses  as  the  instru- 
ment, were  in  Divine  Wisdom  given  (even  though,  as 
we  look  back  from  this  Age,  they  seem  crude  to  us), 
that  the  children  who  are  lost  in  the  Wilderness  of  Illu- 
sion,— the  deceptive  forest,  could  comprehend  that  the 
Infinite  is  ever  ready  to  lead  and  guide  them,  when 
they  are  sufficiently  awakened  to  hear  that  there  is  a 
Promised  Land.  From  the  time  that  they  believe  there 
is  a  Promised  Land  and  start  upon  the  journey  which 
leads  to  its  destination,  their  travels  are  through  the 
Wilderness  and  their  problems  which  they  encounter 
are  difficult  indeed  for  them  to  solve. 

But  the  Father  had  caused  Moses  to  become  awak- 
ened and  in  conscious  rapport  with  the  Infinite,  so  that 
Moses  could  receive  his  instructions  through  the  Truth 
shining  within  his  own  Soul  from  the  Father.  Moses' 
problems  were  indeed  deep,  but  he  was  a  Soul  with  the 
Faith  that  the  Real  was  lying  near;  and  so  when  he 
saw  the  Fire  of  God  burning  in  the  bush,  he  turned 
aside  and,  as  soon  as  he  turned  aside,  God  spake  to  him. 
Moses  then  turned  consciously  about  and  started  back 


The  Consciousness  op  Jesus  Christ         413 

over  the  Path,  unwinding  the  snarls  and  causing  his 
thread  of  life  to  become  straight;  and,  as  he  did  this, 
God  could  use  him  in  teaching  and  leading  those  who 
were  tired  of  endeavoring  to  solve  the  misleading  illu- 
sions of  carnality;  but  it  required  forty  years'  wander- 
ing ere  they  reached  the  border-line  of  the  Promised- 
Land. 

The  Land  of  Canaan  was  there,  the  fields,  forest  and 
climate  enticing,  all  those  years  they  were  in  the  wilder- 
ness; and,  if  they  could  have  swept  aside  the  veil  of 
illusion,  there  was  a  short  road  which  could  have  been 
traveled  in  three  days. 

When  Infinite  Love  sent  the  great  Soul  which  is 
known  as  Jesus  Christ,  the  cycle  had  arrived  when 
many  of  the  men  of  earth  had  reached  the  awakening 
period  in  which  they  could  hear  a  sweeter,  clearer  and 
more  direct  message.  Jesus,  being  the  conscious  Son  of 
God  in  expression,  was  in  rhythm  with  the  Heart  of 
God,  which  is  the  Infinite  Heart.  He  expressed  Divine 
Love,  Tenderness,  and  Compassion  for  the  men  of  earth ; 
and,  in  His  consciousness  of  the  Absoluteness  and  Per- 
fection of  the  Whole,  He  understood  clearly  where  the 
men  of  earth  were,  as  they  dwelt  in  the  illusions  of  car- 
nality. 

The  Christ  exquisiteness,  expressed  through  Jesus  in 
every  detail  of  His  daily  life,  was  so  sublime  that  the 
carnal  man  could  not  discern  it ;  or,  if  sufiiciently  awak- 
ened to  observe  it,  could  not  define  it,  any  more  than 
the  perfume  of  a  rose  can  be  defined. 

Out  from  the  Christ-Consciousness  of  Jesus  flowed 
the  message  to  the  man  who  has  come  to  the  border-line 
of  the  Promised  Land;  to  enter  which  is  the  work  of 
each  individual  as  he  meets  and  overcomes  the  obstacles 
which  he  alone  can  meet  and  overcome.  If  he  desires 
a  home  in  that  land  where  there  is  abundance,  he  must 
arise  and  become  a  conscious  master  over  every  obstacle 
which  is  of  the  earthly  quality. 


414  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Here  is  the  second  dispensation  to  the  individual, 
whose  message  Jesus  gave  from  His  Christ- Conscious- 
ness. If  studied  and  understood,  this  message  will  en- 
able man  to  gain  the  assistance  he  requires  from  the 
Father. 

Jehovah-God  is  a  conscious  expression  of  the  Infinite ; 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  Conscious  Son  of  the  Infinite  in  ex- 
pression. That  which  expressed  the  Conscious  mind 
of  God  in  Jesus  was  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God. 

In  this  second  dispensation  teaching,  Jesus  gave  the 
instructions  so  that  man,  when  sufficiently  awakened 
and  in  control  over  the  animal  propensities  which  sway 
man  while  he  is  lost  in  the  Forest  of  Illusion,  can  find 
his  way  out.  If  man  so  desires  and  is  sufficiently  in 
earnest  to  diligently  seek,  ask  and  search  for  the  vitality 
of  that  teaching  which  lies  far  behind  the  letter  of  His 
words  and  the  doctrinal  beliefs  which  have  formed 
around  them, — ^yea,  so  far  back  of  these  that  the  sub- 
limity of  it  does  not  extend  to  them,  save  only  as  man^s 
ear  is  attuned  to  the  mystic  presence  of  the  Infinite  and 
can  hear  the  Loving,  Silent  Lullaby  of  the  Infinite,  as 
it  is  silently  wafted  through  Infinity,  he  will  abundantly 
and  satisfyingly  find.  This  silent  music  when  once  the 
ear  of  man  has  heard,  will  soon  quicken  the  Soul,  be- 
cause it  is  the  Song  of  the  Infinite  Soul  to  the  Soul  of 
man,  which  is  the  individualized  manifestation  of  the 
Infinite  Soul. 

The  illusions  which  filled  the  mind  of  man  as  he 
walked  through  and  dwelt  in  the  Forest  of  Illusions,  so 
incased  the  Soul  that  the  mind  seemed  dis-joined  from 
it;  but  the  Soul  of  man  awakens  when  it  hears  the 
Infinite  Lullaby  and  breaks  through  the  incrustations. 

However,  that  is  not  correct,  because  the  Soul  is  the 
Conscious  Life  of  the  Infinite  in  manifestation,  there- 
fore could  not  sleep  or  slumber;  but  the  mind  of  man, 
being  so  engrossed  with  the  illusive  decepitons  of  the 
carnal  man  and  his  life  as  he  lives  in  the  Forest,  has 


The  Consciousness  of  Jesus  Christ  415 

lost  all  memory  of  the  individual  expression  of  the  In- 
finite Soul  which  he  is. 

When  man  learns  sufficiently  of  the  message  of  Truth 
to  cause  him  to  perceive  that  he,  as  an  individual,  is  to 
learn  and  apply  the  message  which  the  Father  gave 
through  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son, — direct  to  the  awakened 
individual;  then  it  is  that  he  will  face  about  and  call 
in  the  silence  for  guidance  from  our  Father-Mother-God. 

"When  man  becomes  fully  conscious  of  his  individu- 
ality, he  is  at  the  threshold  of  the  third  dispensation 
and  Christ,  the  Conscious  Son  of  God,  expressed  through 
Jesus  in  the  second  dispensation,  gives  that  sublime 
message,  which,  though  so  mystical,  when  once  discov- 
ered and  understood,  is  sweet,  grand  and  inspiring.  As 
the  consciously  awakened  man  understandingly  places 
his  Soul  en  rapport  with  the  Infinite  Soul  and  listens 
to  the  song  of  the  Soul  of  souls  and,  as  this  whispers 
silently  to  his  Soul,  man,  as  he  consciously  learns  to 
live  in  the  third  dispensation,  will  not  only  hear  the 
music  of  the  Infinite  Harp  and  feel  the  Harmony,  Peace, 
Contentment  and  Love  of  the  Infinite;  but,  in  the  third 
degree  concept  he  will  become  a  Conscious  Individual 
Harp  and,  through  understanding,  he  will,  by  keeping 
his  whole  being.  Body,  Mind,  Soul  and  Spirit  in  perfect 
tune  with  the  Infinite  Harp,  become  vibrant  with  Life 
Eternal,  that  the  Music  of  the  Infinite  may  vibrate  in 
and  through  him,  as  it  does  in  and  through  the  branches 
of  the  trees. 

In  the  third  dispensation,  which  the  Bible  designates 
as  the  reign  of  a  thousand  years,  in  which  Spirituality 
will  become  manifest,  the  conscious  sons  of  God  will 
dwell  here  upon  earth  with  Jesus  Christ  as  the  ruling 
sovereign  in  His  deeper  and  fuller  consciousness  of  His 
Sonship. 

In  the  third  dispensation,  many  will  take  the  third 
degree  of  the  Third  Dispensation.    Jesus  Christ  was  a 


416  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

candidate  for  that  initiation  when  He  passed  through 
death  and  proved  that  He  was  a  master  over  it. 

Jesus  passed  that  great  initiation  and  now  stands  the 
Master;  and  He  left  His  rules  clear  so  that  the  can- 
didate who  arrives  at  that  initiation  can  understand 
them,  even  though  they  are  hid  in  mysticism  to  those 
who  have  not  arrived  at  that  final  initiation. 

When  man,  in  the  concept  of  his  own  sonship,  arrives 
at  the  Portal  of  the  Third  Degree  Initiation,  he,  with 
the  illumined  vision  of  a  seer,  looks  out  through  the 
vastness  of  Infinity  and  visions  Eternity  and  the  Eter- 
nality  of  all  things  of  God*s  creation.  With  this  same 
vision  he  looks  in  and  through  the  Forest  of  Illusions 
and  easily  discerns  where  each  of  God's  sons  stand,  as 
he  is  lost  in  the  wilderness  of  this  world;  and,  as  he 
calls  to  remembrance  the  suffering  and  heartaches  which 
he  encountered  as  he  stood  in  that  same  place  of  the 
Path,  he  feels  the  Divine  Urge  of  his  Soul  to  extend  his 
helping  hand  to  his  brothers  who  are  still  lost,  dream- 
ing their  time  away  in  the  illusions,  thinking  them  the 
reality. 

Jesus  Christ  lived  upon  the  earth  in  the  body  of 
flesh  in  the  Divine  Consciousness  that  he  is  a  Son  of 
God.  His  teachings  and  examples  proved  distinctly  that 
the  Father  who  sent  Him  desires  all  men.  His  sons,  to 
awaken  from  the  illusive  concepts  and  become  conscious 
sons  of  God.  But  that  is  not  sufficient,  for  we  remem- 
ber Jesus'  call  to  all  men  is  "Follow  Me";  and  He  met 
and  mastered  death  and  took  His  transmuted  body  with 
Him.  He,  the  Conscious  Redeemed  Soul,  is  our  Elder 
Brother ;  and  His  Love  is  so  great  for  His  brothers  who 
are  still  in  the  carnal  concept  that  it  will  finally  draw 
all  men  unto  their  conscious  divine  sonship.  The  abid- 
ing place  of  the  Redeemed  Son  is  the  Father's  House, 
the  Soul's  Home. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE    SONG    OF    THE    SOUL    OF    MAN,    AS    HE 

STANDS  ON  THE  MOUNT  OF 

TEANSFIGURATION. 

SING  ye  a  song,  0,  my  Soul!  for  I  am  lost  in  con- 
templation. 
The  vastness,  the  grandeur,  the  greatness,  the 
beauty  and  exquisiteness  of  the  glowing  glory  of  God, 
which  man  beholds  as  he  stands  on  the  Mount  of  Trans- 
figuration, cannot  be  described;  it  can  only  be  accent- 
uated by  saying,  **It  is  sublime.'' 

The  Soul,  breathing  en  rapport  with  the  Infinite  Soul, 
drinks  deep  and  long  from  the  elixir  of  the  bliss  of 
being  on  the  summit  and  basking  in  the  glory  of  God. 
In  that  Sublime  Silence,  the  Soul  sings  its  song  of 
silence  in  the  stilLuess  wherein  it  is  standing,  as  it  looks 
into  the  Glory  of  God. 

THE  SOUL. 

I  feel  this  stillness  throughout  my  being 
As  I  stand  on  this  Mount  alone; 
And  I  know  this  vastness  enfolds  me, 
Even,  as  the  moss  embraces  the  stone. 

I  stand  in  joyous  rapture. 
In  the  shining  glory  of  God; 
Perceiving  that  the  Omnipotence  sustains 
Souls,  Suns,  stars  and  the  earth's  green  sod. 

417 


418  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

I  lave  in  this  glorious  Presence, 

Forgetting  all  but  God ; 

And  I  rest  in  the  joy  of  being 

In  transmutation,  from  man,  back  to  God. 

From  this  mountain-top  of  vision. 
The  Soul  looks  out  into  God 
And  is  face  to  face  with  God's  Beauty 
In  each  expression  it  beholds. 

No  dust,  nor  accumulations  of  the  ages  past 
Can  blur  the  sight  or  mar  the  grandeur 
Of  the  vision  of  the  Soul,  as  it  stands 
Upon  the  summit  and  beholds  God's  wonders. 

The  Soul  is  lost  in  rapture  sweet, 
As  it  visions  deep  and  clear 
The  handiwork  of  God  in  its  perfection 
And  the  unchangeableness  of  the  Whole. 

I,  Soul,  in  conscious  peace  abide 

In  the  shining  glory  of  my  God. 

In  the  silence  of  the  Infinite, 

I  have  found  the  Eternal  abode  of  the  Soul. 

Bright,  glorious  and  blissful  is  this  abiding  place, 
Where,  in  the  heart  of  each  and  all. 
We  see  Love  and  contentment  expressed, 
In  this  Silence  grand  man  loves  to  dwell. 

Where  in  the  heart  of  the  rose  God's  glory  glows, 
And  with  its  perfume  reveals  the  Presence  of  God, 
Where  the  Lily  dressed  in  its  mystery  deep 
Silently  speaks,  lo,  the  Presence  of  God. 


The  Song  of  the  Soul  op  Man  419 

The  dew-drop  on  the  daisy, 
The  butter-cup  reposing  upon  the  ground, 
The  violets  clustered  amidst  the  ferns, — 
All  are  breathing  the  Love  of  God. 


The  Soul  is  lost  in  rapture  grand, 
As  it,  from  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration, 
Visions  man*s  glorious  destination 
Amidst  the  beauty  and  glory  of  God. 

In  peace  and  contemplation  on  the  mountain  alone. 
The  Soul  is  lost  forever  in  the  glory  of  God, 
And  ever  and  ever  it  sings  of  the  beauties 
Of  that  other  land,  not  known  to  mortal  man. 

I  lave  in  the  ocean  of  bliss; 

I  drink  of  the  nectar  of  God, 

And  eat  from  the  table  of  bounty. 

Which  is  spread  by  the  hand  of  our  Lord. 

Love  is  my  portion  in  this  Eternal  clime ; 
There,  the  Light  of  God  ever  lighteth. 
And  the  streets  are  paved  with  Love  Divine ; 
There  the  Holy  Ones  are  ever  singing  Hozannas  to  their 
God. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

MAN— BODY,  MIND,  SOUL,  SPIRIT— ONE. 

MAN  is  four-fold  in  his  being  and  up  to  the  time 
of  his  illumination  he  functions  in  the  different 
departments  of  his  being;  but  after  his  illum- 
ination, he,  through  understanding  and  the  help  of  the 
Father,  merges  from  the  four-fold  expression  of  being 
into  ONE. 

Man  can  still  his  outer  mind  and  through  inspiration 
reach  the  summit  of  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration  and 
the  Soul  become  filled  with  ecstasy  and  burst  forth  in 
song. 

This  is  good,  as  the  man  is  far  indeed  upon  the  Path 
ere  he  can  thus  soar ;  but,  to  do  as  Jesus  did,  man  climbs 
the  mountain  alone  with  the  assistance  of  God;  and 
none  are  permitted  to  accompany  him,  even  a  part  of 
the  way,  except  those  who  are  nearing  that  initiation. 
When  Jesus  stood  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  He 
was  there  in  His  four-fold  being, — ^Body,  Mind,  Soul, 
spirit. 

There  on  that  mountain,  Jesus  visioned  what  He  was 
to  bring  into  expression;  and,  after  He  had  conversed 
with  those  whom  the  Father  had  sent  to  talk  with  Him 
concerning  that  experience  which  He  was  bringing  into 
expression.  He  came  down  from  the  Mountain  and  went 
directly  about  His  Father's  business,  which  was  bless- 
ing His  fellowman  even  while  He  was  leading  up  to  the 
final  of  His  works. 

As  long  as  the  teachings  of  Jesus  are  only  theoret- 
ically observed,  and  man  believes  they  are  given  that 

420 


Man.    Body,  Mind,  Soul,  Spirit — One         421 

they  may  learn  how  to  prepare  for  a  future  life  beyond 
the  grave,  the  depth  of  His  message  is  not  discerned. 
While  that  is  good  as  far  as  it  goes,  it  does  not  extend 
far  enough. 

It  seems  strange  indeed  that  man  should  thus  mis- 
understand the  teachings  of  the  Nazarene  when  He  so 
persistently  taught  by  example  and  precept  that  man, 
when  he  ''Knows  the  Truth,'*  would  be  free.  The  last 
enemy  of  mankind  He  met  and  mastered,  that  man 
might  see  that  it  is  possible  for  him  to  become  free  from 
death. 

What  did  the  Great  Teacher  mean  by  Freedom?  It 
is  quite  clear  to  be  seen  that  He  meant  freedom  from 
pain,  disease,  fear,  poverty  and  death;  free  from  the 
great  illusion, — carnality. 

If  it  was  not  freedom  from  these  Jesus  would  not 
have  proven  to  man  that  it  is  possible  for  man  to  master 
and  overcome  disease  and  death.  Truly,  it  cannot  be 
supposed  that  Jesus — and  He  knowing  the  Will  of  the 
Father — ^would  have  given  the  time  He  did  to  the 
healing  of  disease  and  teaching  man  how  to  live  above 
it,  if  there  had  not  been  a  great  Truth  lying  back  of  His 
example. 

We  have  no  record  of  Jesus  doing  an  idle  thing; 
everything  He  said  or  did  portrayed  a  deep  lesson  to 
the  student-devotee  of  Truth. 

To  the  man  who  is  living  in  the  outer  mind  and  life 
only,  there  is  no  meaning,  worthy  of  more  than  a  pass- 
ing notice,  to  the  teaching  which  Jesus  gave. 

And  so  it  is  today,  man  only  perceives  the  value  of 
anything,  be  it  land,  diamond,  estate  or  the  Message  of 
Truth,  by  the  light  he  has  concerning  it. 

A  man  who  has  no  knowledge  about  diamonds  will 
appreciate  an  artificial  one;  and  the  man  who  has  no 
knowledge  of  the  great  fabric  of  Truth  is  content  with 
the  counterfeit  or  misapprehension  and  will  follow  any 


422  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

one  who  presents  to  him  that  which  appears  like  the 
Real. 

How  is  man  to  know  the  Real  Truth  and  its  Teach- 
ings from  those  which  are  the  counterfeit,  or  misunder- 
standings of  the  Truth  ?    By  proving  them. 

A  man  buying  a  musical  instrument  expects  the  sales- 
man to  prove  to  him  if  the  tone  is  good  or  perfect. 

The  Great  Teacher  proved  the  Divineness  of  the  or- 
igin of  the  Message  He  taught  to  humanity  by  healing 
disease,  unstopping  the  ears  of  the  deaf,  opening  the 
eyes  of  the  blind,  raising  the  dead,  stilling  the  storm, 
walking  on  the  water  and  feeding  the  hungry  ones  from 
the  invisible  source. 

Why  did  the  Loving  Father  send  Jesus  to  earth  with 
this  message  1  And  why  did  Jesus  so  persistently  prove 
the  correctness  thereof  by  His  works?  Because  it  is  so 
important  to  mankind. 

When  man  is  finally  free  from  the  Wheel  of  Birth 
and  Death  he  is  one  complete  being,  the  four-fold  na- 
ture, having  through  insight  and  understanding,  been 
joined  into  the  Holy  Wedlock.  When  he  realizes  his 
at-onement  with  the  Father,  the  Father  will  place  a 
ring  upon  his  hand,  which  ring  is  a  symbol  of  unity 
and  his  one-ness  with  all  men  and  his  At-One-Ment 
with  the  Father. 

When  man  learns  that  all  men  are  created  equal,  all 
in  the  ''Image  and  Likeness  of  God,*'  he  will  see  the 
sweetness  in  the  message  of  Jesus  Christ,  which,  if  un- 
derstood and  lived  into  expression,  will  bring  universal 
brotherhood  upon  the  earth. 

Man  lives  in  the  physical  concept  of  the  body  and 
believes  it  to  be  himself.  Then  his  mind  awakens  and 
many  then  live  in  the  mental  concept  and  think  that 
the  mind  is  the  master.  Then  his  Soul  awakens  and  he 
lives  in  the  Soul-consciousness  of  himself,  the  world  and 
God.  Then  his  heart,  the  center  of  his  Spiritual  nature, 
awakens,  and  the  Spirit  of  man  expresses ;  but  man  does 
not  express  as  Jesus  Christ,  the  Way-Director,  did,  until 


Man.    Body,  Mind,  Soul,  Spirit — One         423 

he  is  one  Being  in  expression;  and  the  greatest  decep- 
tion that  there  is,  dissolution,  is  mastered,  that  the  one- 
ness of  his  Being  cannot  be  dissolved. 

When  man  in  his  four-fold  nature.  Body,  Mind,  Spirit 
and  Soul  is  merged  into  ONE,  man  stands  a  master 
here  upon  the  earth,  and  through  his  kindness  to  his 
fellow-man  many  will  call  him  blessed. 


CHAPTER  IX 

COMPLETENESS. 

THERE    is   a   spirit   number.     Three   times   three 
brings  the  completeness  of  numbers. 

When  man  has  taken  the  third  degree  initia- 
tion, in  the  third  degree  he  arrives  at  completeness. 
He  then  moves  in  the  labyrinth  of  the  Infinite, — a  child 
of  the  Universe,  and  the  Universe  is  his  Home.  He  is 
a  bright  and  shining  light  in  the  midst  of  shining  lights, 
in  the  center  of  The  Shining  Light. 

He  functions  here  upon  earth  amidst  the  men  who 
are  living  in  the  mists  of  earth ;  enjoys  each  and  every 
moment  as  men  of  earth  count  time ;  and  every  obstacle 
he  encounters  for  himself,  or  fellow  man,  he  joyously 
rises  above,  as  the  eagle  soars  above  the  mountain  peaks. 

The  man  who  is  in  completeness,  like  the  eagle,  soars 
high.  He  rises  above  the  storms  and  abides  under  the 
blue  sky,  until  they  have  passed  away.  Like  as  the 
eagle  ever  keeps  its  eye  on  the  sun,  so  the  man  who, 
having  passed  the  third  initiation  in  the  third  degree 
and  stands  in  Completeness,  a  perfect  man,  ever  keeps 
his  eye  upon  the  Infinite ;  the  Solar  Sun  being  a  symbol 
of  the  Celestial  Center. 

It  is  conceded  that  what  a  man  keeps  his  eye  upon 
he  eventually  will  become  like  thereunto;  therefore,  if 
man  ever  keeps  his  eye  upon  the  Celestial  Center  of  the 
Infinite,  which  is  the  abode  of  the  Celestial  Ones,  it  is 
only  a  question  of  soaring  until  he  becomes  a  celestial 
Being  in  understanding  and  expression. 

It  is  a  sublime  height  to  which  the  conscious  com- 

424 


Completeness  425 

pleteness  only  can  soar.  Remember,  that  completeness 
is  Body  as  well  as  Soul,  and  is  like  Jesus  who,  after  He 
had  passed  the  third  initiation,  brought  body  and  Soul 
through  the  wall,  not  requiring  the  open  door. 

Jesus  in  the  dawn  of  the  morning  sat  upon  the  shore 
of  the  sea  watching  His  disciples,  who  had  grown  weary 
and  were  without  any  fruits  from  their  toil. 

Jesus,  with  His  Heart  in  tender  accord,  called  unto 
them,  **Cast  your  nets  on  the  right  side.'*  In  obedi- 
ence to  the  wisdom  which  was  wafted  from  the  shore, 
their  nets  were  filled  to  overflowing;  yea,  they  could 
contain  no  more. 

Then  the  heart  of  Love  within  them  responded  to 
that  Heart  upon  the  shore,  where  Love  was  waiting 
for  them  to  return.  Then  John  exclaimed,  "It  is  the 
Lord!*' 

Courage,  Faith  and  Devotion  sprang  into  action  when 
they  heard  those  sublime  words  of  recognition;  and 
Peter  left  the  boat  and  his  companions  that  he  might 
reach  the  shore  where  stood  the  Lord. 

Peter  had  forsaken  all;  he  thought  only  of  the  goal; 
and,  when  he  arrived  where  Jesus  was,  he  found  fish 
prepared  and  broiling  upon  the  fire. 

In  turning,  after  his  greeting  with  his  Lord,  Peter 
saw  that  the  others  had  brought  the  boat  and  the  fishes 
which  had  filled  the  nets  full  unto  breaking. 

Thus,  in  that  bright  morning  on  the  shores  of  the 
Sea  of  Tiberias,  we  behold  the  glorious  meeting  of 
Jesus  and  His  disciples. 

And  they  there  ate  together,  the  Shepherd  and  the 
sheep,  showing  the  awakened,  who  are  up  in  the  early 
dawn,  that  the  walls  of  all  dimensions  are  crumbled, 
when  man  stands  in  completeness  with  the  desire  to 
encompass  the  "Whole. 

Soar,  thou  Soul,  who  are  aspiring  to  climb  to  the 
summit.  Keep  thy  eye  upon  the  Celestial  Center,  as 
the  eagle  his  upon  the  Sun;  and  thou  wilt  cause  all 


426  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

walls  of  partitions  to  crumble  into  dust;  and  no  stone- 
cemented  enclosure  can  hinder  or  delay  thy  entering 
into  each  dimension,  as  thou  dost  pass  it  on  thy  way. 

Then,  from  that  Horeb  height,  you  can  as  easily 
descend  to  feed,  encourage  and  strengthen  the  awakened 
of  earth's  men,  who  are  up  in  the  dawn  and  willing 
through  their  own  efforts  to  approach  you  upon  the 
shore. 

Jesus  said  to  Peter,  as  he  ate  of  the  food  which  Jesus 
had  prepared:  ''Peter,  lovest  thou  me?''  Peter  an- 
swered unconcernedly,  perhaps,  of  that  great  commis- 
sion which  Jesus  had  for  him  to  soon  enter  upon, 
saying,  ''Yes,  Lord." 

But  again  the  Saviour  asked  him,  "Peter,  lovest  thou 
me  more  than  these?"  Again  Peter  answered,  "Yes, 
Lord."  But  Jesus,  perceiving  that  Peter  did  not  un- 
derstand the  depth  of  His  question,  again  asked, 
"Lovest  thou  me  more  than  these?" 

Then  Peter  awoke  to  the  Sublimity  of  it  all  and  an- 
swered :  ' '  Lord,  thou  knowest  all  things ;  therefore  thou 
knowest  that  I  love  Thee." 

Then  Jesus  said  unto  Peter,  "Feed  my  sheep." 

This  was  the  third  time  that  Jesus  showed  Himself 
to  His  disciples  after  He  had  risen  from  the  dead. 

It  was  in  the  dawn  of  the  morning,  as  Jesus  stood 
upon  the  seashore,  that  He  called  unto  His  disciples, 
who  had  toiled  all  through  the  night,  and  asked  them: 
"Children,  have  ye  any  meat?"  They  answered  Him, 
"No."  Jesus  said  unto  them,  "Come  and  dine."  "And 
none  of  the  disciples  durst  ask  Him  'Who  art  thou?' 
knowing  that  it  was  the  Lord."    St.  John  21:12. 

"Jesus  then  cometh  and  taketh  bread  and  giveth 
them ;  and  fish  likewise. ' '    St.  John  21 :13. 

"This  is  now  the  third  time  that  Jesus  showed  Him- 
self to  His  disciples,  after  that  He  was  risen  from  the 
dead."    St.  John  21:14. 


Completeness  427 

In  these  three  verses,  from  the  record  of  John  the 
Beloved,  we  see  Jesus  proving  that  there  are  no  dimen- 
sion walls,  when  man  has  scaled  the  heights  and  unfolds 
his  banners  as  he  soars  amidst  the  universes  and  sys- 
tems of  universes. 

Jesus  quietly  floated  down  in  that  gray  dawn  and 
called  to  His  disciples,  as  they  were  toiling  in  the  dark 
upon  the  sea  of  uncertainty,  hungry  and  weary  of  thus 
toiling  on  that  dim  and  uncertain  sea,  and  they  heard 
His  voice  in  welcome,  and  right  gladly  did  they  at  once 
obey  His  words. 

When  they  reached  that  Great  Master  who  in  loving 
and  tender  care  had  watched  over  them  through  the 
long,  dark  night,  and  He  said,  **Come  and  dine,*'  they 
sweetly  acquiesced  and  obeyed  His  command. 

Jesus,  in  completeness,  stood  thus  in  the  morning  to 
give  food  to  those  who  encamped  near  enough  to  hear 
His  call. 

He  today  is  still  in  completeness  assisting  His  dis- 
ciples as  their  barks  lie  near  enough  to  the  shore  of  that 
other  dimension  for  them  to  step  from  the  uncertain 
sea  to  the  shore  of  another  Land  where  the  food  is 
prepared  by  the  Saviour's  hands,  where  the  supply  is 
so  abundant  that  they  know  lack  only  belongs  to  the 
departed  land. 

Note,  those  disciples  passed  from  that  night  of  toil 
on  the  uncertain  sea  (carnality)  and  stepped  upon  that 
other  shore  and  walked  and  ate  and  were  taught  there 
without  passing  through  death. 

When  the  mind  of  man  can  function  on  the  One 
Completed  Man  and  comprehend  how  complete  is  this 
completeness,  he  will  begin  to  lose  sight  of  death  and  it 
will  finally  be  swallowed  up  in  the  bright  and  shining 
glory  of  the  Celestial  Center  of  God. 

Completeness  means  individual  completeness,  man, 
consciously  living,  moving  and  having  his  being  in 
Completeness  in  God. 


428  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

As  the  beautiful  butterfly  passes  from  flower  to  flower, 
sipping  a  drop  of  nectar  from  each  and  blessing  it  with 
its  beautiful  mysterious  presence,  so  the  individual  com- 
pleteness passes  from  planet  to  planet,  from  universe 
to  universe,  from  systems  of  universes  to  systems  of 
universes,  sipping  a  drop  of  honey  and  leaving  a  bless- 
ing, too,  to  each  which  he  visits  with  his  rainbow  pres- 
ence. 

''Come  and  dine,'*  0,  our  brothers,  at  this  sacred 
table  of  completeness  where  there  is  naught  but  the 
glory  of  the  Eternal  and  Living  God,  where  the  bliss  of 
Being  is  in  continuous  ecstasy  and  the  beauty  of  that 
sublimity  cannot  be  expressed. 

Just  step  from  that  sea  of  uncertainty,  where  the 
darkness  lays  low,  up  on  the  shore  of  Eternity,  where 
the  Light  is  bright  and  clear.  The  Lord  is  there  in 
all  His  glorious  completeness  and  He  feeds,  teaches 
and  assists  His  disciples  until  they,  too,  are  masters. 
Soon  they,  with  Love,  wisdom  and  power  extend  their 
pinions  from  shore  to  shore  of  that  Eternal  Clime. 
They  continue  to  eat  from  that  table  of  their  God. 

They  enter  into  the  Celestial  City  where  the  streets 
are  paved  with  Love  Divine  and  the  fields  surrounding 
it  are  ever  green  and  the  flowers  are  the  rarest  blend- 
ings  of  Infinite  Love  in  all  the  delicate  tintings  of  Par- 
adise. 

Here  streams  the  Light  Supernal;  and  none  will  ever 
lose  their  way  when  they  have  caught  even  a  glimpse  of 
that  Eternal  Abode. 

In  the  mysticism  of  numbers,  man  with  understand- 
ing can  be  carried  into  the  Spiritual  Realm. 

By  the  ways  of  Beauty  one  can  soar  to  Realms  Divine. 

In  the  Boat  of  Love,  where  the  Celestial  Ones  float 
silently  upon  the  clear  blue  water  of  Paradise,  the  com- 
pleted one  will  ever  be;  and,  should  there  appear  a 
storm,  speak  to  Him,  and  He  will  still  its  seeming  tu- 
mult; and,  lo,  the  calm  blue  water! 


Completeness  429 

As  the  eagle  ever  keeps  its  eye  upon  the  sun  as  it 
soars  in  realms  far  above  the  mountain  top,  so  thou,  0, 
devotee-student,  keep  your  eye  upon  COMPLETE- 
NESS. 


CHAPTER  X 

WHEN   MAN   SEES   WITH    OTHER    EYES,   NOT 

DIMMED  BY  THE  MISTS  UPON 

THIS  SHORE. 

THERE  are  eyes,  yet  there  is  only  one  Eye, — ''The 
All  Seeing.'' 
Then,  for  man  to  see  with  eyes  not  dimmed  by 
the  mists  upon  this  shore,  it  is  necessary  that  he  so  place 
himself  that  his  eyes  become  the  expression  of  the  *'A11 
Seeing  Eye. ' '  When  man  can  thus  do,  his  sight  is  clear 
and  strong. 

If  man  has  gained  understanding  sufficiently  strong 
he  can  so  function  his  eye  upon  the  All  Seeing  Eye, 
that  his  sight  will  burst  into  vision. 

Then  the  mists  are  dissolved  by  his  vision.  Through 
Vision  Divine  he  consumes  all  the  mist  that  approaches 
him  for  recogintion  and  disturbes  those  who  may  call 
upon  him  to  assist  them  through  the  marsh  over  which 
hangs  the  mists. 

When  man  sees  with  the  eyes  which  are  dimmed  by 
the  mists  of  this  clime  of  carnality,  he  sees  not  clearly. 
A  mist  is  before  his  eyes;  his  sight  is  blurred;  there- 
fore, not  seeing  clearly,  all  things  seem  in  confusion 
and  man  easily  loses  his  way  and  misunderstands  his 
fellow  man,  as  he  meets  him,  amidst  the  marshes  over 
which  hang  the  mists. 

Man,  in  the  midst  of  carnality,  sees  his  loved  one 
stricken  with  disease,  suffer  and  die.  He  buries  the 
body  and  mourns  over  the  grave  where  the  earthly  ten- 

430 


When  Man  Sees  With  Other  Byes         431 

ement  is  laid,  believing  that  his  love  and  hopes  are 
buried  there. 

The  mist  being  thick  and  low,  he  thinks  not,  to  look 
higher  than  the  bowels  of  the  earth  for  his  loved  one. 

Man,  in  the  expression  of  the  darkness  in  his  mind, 
which  is  caused  by  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  working  of 
the  Infinite,  clothes  himself  in  the  depth  of  grief. 

Black  is  worn  as  emblem  of  mourning  by  those  who 
see  not  with  the  eye,  not  dimmed  by  the  mists  of  this 
clime,  and  this  carnal  country, — illusions,  and,  it  is  lack 
of  knowing  the  brightness,  Love  and  Light  of  God's  un- 
changing Presence  which  causes  any  one  to  thus  envelope 
themselves  in  the  emblem  of  darkness. 

When  one  gains  Spiritual  understanding  and  is  Spir- 
itually en  rapport  with  the  Loving  Heart  of  the  Infinite, 
knowing,  that  he  is  in  Reality  in  the  very  Heart  of  God 
and  in  silent  communion  with  the  Father;  he  in  loving 
meditation  looks  away  from  the  darkness  and  mist  which 
seem  to  envelope  him;  until  his  eyes  will  become  so 
accustomed  to  the  brightness  of  that  higher  Light,  that 
the  strength  in  them  is  surprising  to  him ;  and  as  he  con- 
tinues to  look  away  from  the  experiences  which  are  oc- 
curring in  the  earth  mists,  his  eyes  become  the  Spiritual 
Eye  and  he  thereafter  sees  with  the  Spiritual  Vision. 

When  man  sees  with  Spiritual  Eyes,  he  does  not  vision 
through  the  same  lens  as  those  who  see  with  the  eye  of 
flesh;  therefore,  he  sees  things  differently;  and  where 
the  man,  who  sees  with  the  eye  of  flesh,  would  fight  his 
fellow  man  in  defense  of  his  rights  and  privileges,  the 
man  with  the  Spiritual  Eye  looks  with  compassion  upon 
the  mistakes  of  his  brothers,  knowing,  as  he  then  does, 
that,  if  that  man  had  the  Spiritual  Eye,  he  would  be  tol- 
erant because,  when  man  sees  with  those  eyes,  which  are 
not  dimmed  by  the  mists  of  this  shore,  his  heart  has  also 
been  touched  and  is  beating  in  Rhythm  with  the  Heart 
of  the  Infinite.  He  also  knows,  that  all  hearts  beat  as 
the  Infinite  Heart  beats ;  if  they  know  it  or  not. 
When  the  eye  is  so  clear,  that  its  sight  is  Spiritual,  it, 


432  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

if  man  desires,  can  see  as  the  **A11  Seeing  Eye"  sees 
and  will  see  the  Divinity  in  each  and  every  man  he 
meets,  it  matters  not  about  his  position  in  life,  neither  to 
what  race  he  belongs.  He  sees  the  divine  rose,  just  back 
of  the  rose ;  and  the  perfect  spirit  Lily  just  back  of  the 
Lily  as  it  expresses  in  the  midst  of  carnality.  He  sees 
the  Spirit  of  God  just  behind  all  expressions  of  mate- 
riality. 

His  Eyes  vision  through  the  garb  which  is  formed  in 
the  mist  and  sees  the  Beauty  and  Perfection  of  God's 
Perfect  Creation  in  all  of  its  beauty,  permanency  and 
grandeur.  He,  ever  seeing  with  those  eyes,  lives  in  that 
Universe  of  Permanency  and  Beauty,  where  the  flowers 
are  forever  bright  and  the  river  forever  clear  and  always 
moving  onward  in  ceaseless  action;  where  all  is  contin- 
uous Life  and  Love  breathes  in  and  through  ALL. 

There  is  one  unbroken  chain  of  Love,  Harmony  and 
Peace,  which  binds  all  the  inhabitants  together,  and  the 
man  with  the  Eye  of  Vision  sees  this. 

He  also  sees  how  far  in  the  darkness  and  confusion 
man  wanders,  as  long  as  he  sees  only  with  the  eye  of 
flesh. 

Man  will  never  arise  above  the  mists  of  earth,  or  find 
his  way  out  from  the  darkness  thereof,  which  is  ignor- 
ance, as  long  as  he  sees  only  with  the  fleshly  man's  eyes. 

Quicken  your  sight,  0  man!  until  you  can  look  into 
the  Light  of  God;  and  as  your  eyes  become  accustomed 
to  that  Bright  Light,  you  will  see  with  other  Eyes,  not 
dimmed  by  the  mists  upon  this  shore. 


CHAPTER  XI 

*^ CLEANLINESS  IS  NEXT  TO  GODLINESS.'' 

WHEN  man  is  Spiritually  clean,  intellectually 
clean  and  physically  clean,  he  is  near  godliness. 
As  far  as  this  truth  has  been  pharsed,  passing 
into  proverbial  speech, — *' Cleanliness  is  next  to  Godli- 
ness. ' ' 

If  man  is  intellectually  clean,  there  will  be  no  unclean 
thing  born  in  his  mind;  neither  will  there  form  in  his 
mind  a  dirty  fabric  to  be  cast  out  over  or  into  his  fellow 
man ;  but  there  will  form  in  his  mind  a  mantle  of  clean- 
liness, and  it  will  be  so  clean  that  it  will  even  cleanse  the 
atmosphere  through  which  it  passes  and  benefit  those  of 
earth's  men  who  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  clean 
minded. 

If  man  is  Spiritually  clean,  as  God  is  clean ;  there  will 
be  no  impurity  within  him;  neither  in  his  mind  nor 
body ;  and  this  Spiritual  cleanliness  will  express  in  Love, 
Tenderness  and  Kindness  to  all  whom  he  meets  upon  the 
great  highway. 

The  Spirituality  that  is  next  to  Godliness  is  so  clean 
and  holy,  that  no  mist  of  earth  in  any  guise  whatsoever 
can  contaminate  it.  It  abides  in  the  Ocean  of  Spiritual 
cleanliness,  where  there  is  no  death,  no  disease,  no  fear, 
no  doubts,  no  jealousy,  no  deceitfulness,  no  falsehood, 
no  unkindness,  no  lack,  no  impurities. 

It  is  the  Ocean  of  the  Infinite,  and  the  manifestations 
of  God  abide  there  and  the  mist  of  the  earth  cannot  enter 
or  harm  anything  therein. 

Harmony,   Purity  and  Holiness — these  are  next  to 

433 


434  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Godliness;  and  Love  is  the  golden  chain  which  binds 
them  together. 

In  the  Spiritual  ocean  of  God 
Where  the  water  is  ever  in  action 
Man  laves  in  Eternal  cleanliness, 
Which  is  Peace,  Harmony  and  Love. 

Gain  this  abiding  consciousness, 
Student-devotee  of  the  Eternal  Truth, 
And  live  in  that  Ocean  of  cleanliness 
Which  is  forever  the  Eternal  God. 

Walk  thou  in  conscious  contentment 
Upon  the  highway  of  our  Lord, 
And  Infinite  Love  enfolds  thee 
As  the  air  surrounds  the  bird. 

Where  dwells  the  Celestial  Ones, 
Where  God  and  His  Holy  Angels 
Are  forever  in  one  accord. 
Soar  thou  into  the  Realm  Supernal 


CHAPTER  XII 

LOVING  KINDNESS. 

WE  have  heard  much  in  this  teaching  about  Lov- 
ing Kindness ;  and  these  lines  of  this  short  chap- 
ter are  only  written  that  the  student-devotee 
may  examine  himself. 

The  teachings,  given  in  this  book  from  cover  to  cover, 
are  to  the  individual,  because  we  know  that  the  earnest 
student  devotee  is  ever  desirous  to  glean  deeper  light 
than  he  at  present  has,  it  matters  not  if  he  is  standing 
among  the  foothills  or  nearing  the  summit.  Because  God 
is  infinite,  therefore,  it  requires  Eternity  itself  for  the 
individual  to  fully  comprehend  Him.  We  know  that  it 
is  a  never-ending  study  and  practice  for  man,  the  indi- 
vidual manifestation  of  the  Infinite,  to  learn  and  realize 
the  Infinite  God. 

One  of  the  first  notes  which  the  awakened  man  hears 
and  which  sounds  so  strong  and  deep  he  can  never  forget 
is  "God  is  Love." 

If  God  is  Love  and  ever  desirous  that  His  son  should 
again  become  conscious  of  this,  the  individual  who  is  a 
deep  student  of  Truth  will  soon  feel  the  Loving  Kind- 
ness of  his  Heavenly  Father  vibrate  through  his  being ; 
he  will  express  something  of  that  Love  to  all  whom  he 
meets.  Some  there  may  be,  who  will  not  understand 
him  and  he  may  find  it  necessary  to  appear  somewhat 
gtern,  as  Jesus  Christ  did  when  he  drove  the  money 
changers  out  of  the  Temple ;  yet,  it  was  in  loving  kind- 
ness Jesus  did  this.  He,  standing  in  the  deep  principle 
of  Truth,  taught  a  lesson  there,  that  all  things  Spiritual 

435 


436  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

are  sacred  and  that  in  money  changing  there  is  no  sacred- 
ness  when  done  greedily  in  the  desire  for  gain,  making  a 
merchandise  of  worship. 

Loving  kindness  should  fill  the  heart  and  mind  of 
every  student  and  devotee  of  Truth.  If  it  is  thus,  it  will 
ever  express  itself,  at  all  times,  and  in  all  places  in  a 
beauty  like  the  Christ,  healing  the  sick,  feeding  the  hun- 
gry and  forgiving  sins. 

Loving  Kindness  is  the  natural  expression  of  the 
Christ- Consciousness.  Then  when  man,  through  the 
Christ- Consciousness,  becomes  a  conscious  son  of  the 
Living,  Loving  God,  he  will  express  loving  kindness 
always. 

Loving  and  tender,  thou  wilt  be  when  Love  for  God 
and  thy  fellow  man  fill  thy  heart. 

Then  compassion  and  wisdom  will  express  in  Loving 
Kindness. 

The  heart  of  humanity  as  *'it  beats  in  every  heart'*  is 
hungry  for  kindness  from  all  men  and  all  men  in  carnal- 
ity appreciate  Loving  Kindness. 

*     •     * 

Be  kind.  Loving  and  True  to  our  Brothers, 

As  you  meet  them,  each  moving  onward  toward  his  des- 
tination 

And  each  thirsting  for  a  smile  and  a  word  of  cheer ; 

Then,  in  Loving  Kindness  prove  yourself  a  blessing  to 
man. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
''KNOW  THOU,  WHEREOF  THOU  SPEAKETH/^ 

THE  individual,  who  has  studied  deeply  into  the 
Reality  of  God  and  His  Creation,  into  the  Reality 
of  that  Unchangeable  Presence,  which  is,  forever 
was  and  will  never  cease  to  be,  will  find  it  of  vast  assist- 
ance to  him,  if  he  keeps  direct  in  the  center  of  the  Path, 
does  not  permit  himself  to  be  too  deeply  impressed  with 
any  one  point  in  the  great  Message  of  Truth  and,  from 
his  place  in  the  center  of  the  Path  use  common  sense 
judgment  in  connection  with  the  experience  he  encoun- 
ters in  his  human  life. 

Remember,  that  man  is  human  and  subject  to  human- 
ity's laws  and  beliefs,  which  are  carnality's  ways,  until 
he  is  illumined  into  the  Dinvine- Concept  of  himself  and 
through  this  illumination  becomes  a  conscious  son  of 
God. 

Between  the  time  man  awakens  and  begins  to  study 
Truth,  until  he  stands  on  the  mountain  top  in  full  illu- 
mination, is  the  place  where  it  is  wisdom  expressed  to 
never  permit  himself  to  become  fanatical;  but  to  use 
reason  at  all  times,  and  at  all  times  be  tempered  in  ''a 
sweet  reasonableness." 

Jesus  Christ,  our  Elder  Brother,  the  Way-Director, 
raised  the  dead,  healed  the  sick  and  comforted  His  broth- 
ers who  were  in  distress  and  left  His  message  for  those 
who  are  following  in  his  footsteps.  Therefore,  we  know 
the  possibility  of  this  greatness.  Let  then  your  faith 
soar  to  the  mountain  top;  but,  at  the  same  time,  keep 
your  bearing;  and  always  remember,  that  you  will  find 

437 


438  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

in  the  teachings  of  Jesus  Christ  direction  for  every  step 
upon  the  Path. 

No  man  is  required  to  place  his  hand  in  the  fire  to 
prove  that  he  knows  the  reality  of  Spirit ;  neither  should 
he  find  it  necessary  to  abstain  from  food  to  convince  man 
that  he  has  mastered  appetite. 

The  man  who  knows  naught  of  the  Truth  (that  great 
unknowable  Wholeness,  to  the  unenlightened ;  and  which 
is  to  the  one  who  has  the  Light  so  real)  will  trample  the 
rare  gems  of  its  loveliness  under  his  feet  as  unconsciously 
as  a  herd  of  wild  deer  from  the  mountains  will  trample 
the  fields  of  grain.  It  remains,  therefore,  that  the  stu- 
dent devotee  knows  whereof  he  speaks,  to  whom  he 
speaks  and  when  to  speak. 

Remember,  always,  that  "Silence  is  golden."  The 
student  who  knows  whereof  he  speaks,  knows  also  when 
to  remain  silent. 

Argument  is  never  necessary,  as  the  very  presence  of 
the  Infinite  will  answer  in  its  silent  tongue,  more  elo- 
quent and  convincing,  than  any  words  a  student  may 
use;  even,  though  they  be  very  learned  in  educational 
ways. 

Then  always  remember  to  silently  ask  of  the  Infinite, 
our  ever  Present  Father,  to  protect,  sustain,  direct  and 
lead ;  and  all  will  be  well. 

If  one  has  the  message  of  Jesus  Christ  in  his  mind,  he 
can  always  learn  from  it,  as  it  is  at  all  times  abiding  in 
the  Father  and  revealing  the  Father. 

In  aswering  any  question,  answer  from  Principle;  or, 
if  you  know  not,  humbly  say  so. 

Humility  is  an  accompaniment  of  the  Christ-Con- 
sciousness and  in  sublime  humility  there  is  Eternal 
Greatness. 

Then  endeavor,  dear  reader,  if  you  are  a  student- 
devotee  of  the  Infinite  Truth,  to  be  balanced,  poised  and 
stable  at  all  times.  Then  you  will  keep  in  the  center  of 
the  Path;  and  while  there  you  can  never  become  a 


''Know  Thou  Whereof  Thou  Speaketh?"    439 

fanatic,  but,  will  always  be  able  to  give  a  reason  for  the 
desire  within  you  and  to  know  whereof  you  speak.  So 
belt! 


CHAPTER  XIV 
CHILD  OF  THE  KINGDOM. 

WHEN  one  awakens  and  desires  to  know  concern- 
in  the  Infinite  Presence,  in  which  he  lives,  moves 
and  has  his  being,  he  is  as  a  child  and  knows  not 
concerning  the  Eternal  Kingdom  to  which  he  belongs. 

Being  a  child,  his  first  desire  is  to  know  of  his  Father. 
It  has  proven  a  great  joy  to  him  to  learn  that  he  has  a 
Loving  Father,  whose  Love  is  far  greater  than  an  earthly 
father's  could  be.  The  Heavenly  Father's  Love  is  Divine 
and  constant,  while  the  earthly  father's  love  is  only  a 
reflection  of  the  Divine  Love,  and  it  is  subject  to  change. 

Child  of  the  Kingdom !  It  is  true  that  you  are  heir  to 
a  vast  store-house  of  which  you  never  dreamed  until  you 
awake.  It  requires  devotion  to  the  heavenly  Father.  It 
is  necessary  that  you  study  deeply  to  understand  about 
the  Fatherhood  and  sonship,  so  that  you  can  live 
accordingly. 

A  child  of  the  Kingdom !  Let  the  mind  dwell  upon  it 
for  a  few  moments  in  the  silent  stillness  of  the  Great 
Silence,  and  the  alone-ness  will  begin  to  depart  from 
your  mind  and,  instead  of  that  feeling  within  you  of 
ever  being  ready  to  strike  an  opponent  in  self  defense, 
you  will  begin  to  feel  that  assurance  of  the  protection  of 
the  Infinite  Presence,  just  as  a  child  feels  secure  when 
in  his  father's  home  and  surrounded  with  his  brothers 
and  sisters. 

To  be  a  conscious  child  of  the  Kingdom,  man  knows  his 
inheritance  and  knows  that  it  is  secure  and  that  his 
Father  is  the  one  that  oversees  all. 

440 


Child  of  the  Kingdom  441 

As  a  grain  of  sand  has  a  place  to  fill  and  cannot  shrink 
from  filling  it;  so  man  has  his  place  in  the  Great 
House, — the  universe,  to  fill;  and,  if  he  learns  to  know 
his  Father  and  clings  close  enough  to  Him  to  learn  the 
way,  he  can  intelligently  fill  the  right  place. 

When  all  men  learn  that  they  are  the  Children  of  the 
Kingdom  they  will  dwell  as  one  family  of  men  upon 
earth.  There  is  plenty,  yes,  abundance,  of  all  things 
upon  the  earth  today,  so  that  every  one  could  have  even 
more  than  a  sufficiency,  but  man  has  not  learned  to  lay 
down  his  carnal  mind  so  that  the  wisdom  of  God  may 
adjust  things. 

The  mind  of  man,  it  matters  not  how  great  it  may  be, 
is  not  capable  at  this  time  of  adjusting  the  affairs  of 
earth,  but,  when  man  learns  to  submit  his  carnal  mind, 
that  it  may  become  merged  into  the  God-mind,  then,  the 
Wisdom  of  God  will  become  manifest  in  and  through 
him,  and  the  Brotherhood  of  Mankind  will  become  evi- 
dent upon  the  earth,  because,  in  the  Reality  of  that 
which  is,  all  men  are  Children  of  the  Kingdom. 


CHAPTER  XV 

APPRECIATION. 

AS  man  studies  through  devotion  and  meditation  he 
comes  into  the  Realization  of  the  Presence  of  the 
Infinite,  and  through  seeing  his  prayers  answered 
he  has  learned  positively,  that  God  Is  and  that  He  is  the 
Rewarder  of  those  that  diligently  seek  Him. 

As  the  student  learns  to  live  more  closely  to  the  Great- 
Heart,  and  feels  the  protection  and  loving  care  of  the 
Divine  Father-Mother,  he  in  love  feeds  daily  from  the 
bounty  which  the  Infinite  supplies. 

As  anxiety,  fear  and  doubt  depart  from  his  mind  and 
faith  and  trust  fill  their  place,  the  heart  should  become 
so  filled  with  appreciation,  that  a  song  of  Praise  and 
Gratitude  would  be  constantly  falling  from  heart  and  lip. 

The  mind  should  be  so  full  of  appreciation,  that,  asleep 
or  awake  it  is  ever  silently  singing  Praises  to  the  Infinite. 
Appreciation  is  the  opposite  condition  to  that  of  self- 
ishness. When  man  has  the  insight  of  the  Truth  suffi- 
ciently clear,  he  soon  sees  that  selfishness  is  the  strongest 
chain  which  binds  man  to  carnality;  and,  if  he  is 
sufficiently  in  earnest,  he  will  set  persistently  about 
removing  it. 

All  men  require  assistance  when  they  awake  from  the 
Adam-dream,  until  their  feet  are  firmly  planted  in  the 
center  of  the  Sacred  Path. 

In  and  through  prayer,  in  all  its  different  methods, 
God  assists  man ;  and  man,  by  Loving  and  Trusting  this 
great  invisible  Presence,  shows  his  appreciation  for 
God*s  Loving  Care  of  him.     When  man  requires  the 

442 


Appreciation  443 

assistance  of  a  teacher  or  instrument  in  healing  from 
among  his  fellow  men,  he  should  appreciate  the  efforts 
of  these  helpers  and,  even  though  there  is  no  immediate 
result,  he  should,  not  only  by  expressing  words  of  appre- 
ciation, but  remember  that  the  helper  must  live.  There- 
fore, man  should  show  his  appreciation  by  giving  to 
him  of  his  material  substance  in  assurance  of  his  appre- 
ciation. 

If  man  after  he  has  studied  deeply  into  the  message 
of  Truth  still  lacks  appreciation  and  has  no  desire  for  it, 
he  has  missed  some  of  the  deep-sounding  notes  in  the 
message  and  it  will  be  well  for  him  to  return  and  seek, 
until  he  discerns  the  missing  points,  at  which  diligently 
he  must  work  to  remove  all  selfishness. 

When  man  really  knows  that  he  is  the  Child  of  the 
Kingdom,  he  will  understandingly  know  that  all  others 
are  children  of  this  Kingdom  and  heirs  to  the  same  inher- 
itance and  members  of  the  same  household;  and,  truly, 
brothers  and  sisters  with  the  same  Father  should  appre- 
ciate all  assistance  which  comes  to  them, — appreciate  the 
Giver  thereof  and  the  instrument  through  which  it  came. 

Though  the  home  of  God^s  children  is  the  Universe 
and  the  Father  is  Infinite,  this  greatness  should  not  cause 
man's  appreciation  to  diminish,  but  it  should  the  rather 
enhance  it. 

When  man  thoroughly  is  appreciative,  he  sees  the  ex- 
pression of  the  Father's  Loving  Care  everywhere.  When 
in  the  joy  of  appreciation,  he  hears  the  Father's  Loving 
Care  voicing  in  the  sweet  songs  of  the  birds;  he  sees  it 
blossoming  in  the  flowers  which  grow  along  the  roadside ; 
he  sees  it  shining  in  the  kindly  smile  of  his  neighbors  and 
in  the  genial  expression  of  the  people  he  meets  in  the 
busy  marts  of  the  city. 

If  man  has  through  understanding  the  principle  of  the 
Message  of  Truth  brought  appreciation  into  expression 
within  himself,  he  will  be  appreciated  by  those  whom  he 
encounters. 

But,  if  there  is  no  appreciation  of  others  in  man's 


444  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

heart,  there  is  no  magnet  there  to  draw  it  to  him  from 
others,  even  though  that  may  be  his  desire. 

A  man  of  wealth  feels  that  he  is  greatly  appreciated. 
Let  his  wealth  take  wings  and  fly  away  and  he  be  left 
penniless,  and  he  will  soon  find  where  the  appreciation 
of  the  people  was,  because  it,  usually  having  come  with 
the  money,  flies  on  those  same  wings  with  the  money. 

In  the  Message  of  Truth,  given  through  Jesus  Christ 
and  elaborated  upon  in  this  book,  man  can,  by  learning 
its  teachings,  cause  selfishness  to  become  entirely  elim- 
inated from  his  consciousness  and  in  its  place  have 
appreciation,  which  expresses  in  and  through  him  to 
God,  his  Father,  the  giver  of  all  good,  and  to  those  of  his 
fellow  man  who  assist  him  in  any  way,  even,  if  it  is  only 
a  kind  smile,  or  an  encouraging  hand-clasp. 

When  the  awakened  men  of  earth,  those  who  are  stu- 
dents of  the  great  and  glorious  Truth,  begin  to  show 
their  appreciation  of  each  other  and  stand  shoulder  to 
shoulder  and  express  brotherly  kindness,  then,  indeed, 
will  the  world  of  men,  those  who  are  not  awake,  begin 
to  see  that  there  is  something  more  to  the  Christ- Con- 
sciousness than  mere  words. 

Appreciation  is  an  expression  of  the  Infinite.  Let  all 
seek  to  express  appreciation. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

COSMIC-CONSCIOUSNESS. 

IN  man's  first  awakening,  the  words  ''Cosmic-Con- 
sciousness" most  likely  falls  lightly  on  the  ear. 
However,  it  is  a  stage  upon  his  Path  which  he  will 
approach  and  enter  into  ere  he  arrives  at  the  Portal  of 
his  Father's  Home  with  the  full  understanding  which  is 
necessary  for  him  to  have,  that  he  may  remain  in  that 
Home  of  Heavenly  Harmony. 

What  is  the  Cosmic-Consciousness?  It  is  the  Mind  of 
God,  the  Infinite  Mind.    What  is  the  Infinite  Mind? 

It  is  that  everywhere  present  Intelligence,  which 
knows  the  atoms  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  the  drops  of 
water  in  the  oceans,  the  grains  of  sand  along  the  sea- 
shores, and  notes  *  *  Even  the  sparrow 's  fall. ' ' 

There  is  no  Space  in  the  Infinite  Intelligence,  even 
though  it  fills  all  space  unto  the  remotest  bounds  of 
Space. 

The  Infinite  Intelligence  is  one  intelligence ;  therefore, 
that  which  it  hears  here  it  hears  everywhere.  This  is 
Cosmic-  Consciousnss. 

For  man  to  attain  unto  the  Cosmic-Consciousness, 
man's  mind  will  necessarily  have  become  thoroughly 
cleaned  from  all  carnal  beliefs,  loves  and  superstitions. 

When  the  mind  of  man  is  clear,  man  then  can,  if  he 
so  desires,  let  it  be  stayed  on  God.  By  his  concentration 
of  his  mind  upon  God-mind,  by  understandingly  medi- 
tating in  the  stillness  of  the  silence  within  his  heart  and 
by  having  his  heart  filled  with  Love  and  Devotion,  as  it 
is  beating  en  rapport  with  the  Infinite  Heart,  being  a 

445 


446  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

part  thereof,  he  can  and  will,  if  he  continues  tinder- 
standingly,  faithfully  and  determinedly  devoted  to  God, 
burst  the  bounds  of  his  Ego  and  stand  face  to  face  with 
the  Infinite. 

When  man  has  attained  unto  the  Cosmic  Consciousness 
in  its  fullness,  he  will  see  and  know  as  God  sees  and 
knows  in  all  things  which  the  individual  should  see  and 
know;  and  there  is  no  limit  to  man's  knowing,  except 
man's  own  degree  of  concept. 

When  man  has  the  Cosmic-Consciousness,  he  requires 
not  the  written  words  which  the  Infinite  has  caused  to 
be  written  to  the  peoples  of  the  past,  known  as  the  Sacred 
Books  or  Bibles,  although  he  appreciates  these  books  as 
the  voice  of  the  Infinite  to  the  children  of  earth  in  their 
different  periods  of  ongoing. 

Man  can,  when  he  has  the  Cosmic- Consciousness,  be 
still  at  any  time  and  at  any  place,  ask  the  Father,  and 
out  from  the  Cosmic  Intelligence  will  come  to  man  that 
which  he  desires  to  know. 

When  man  has  scaled  the  heights  and  stands  on  the 
summit  grand,  with  Love  of  the  Infinite  Presence  in  his 
heart  and  with  devotion,  insight,  vision  and  understand- 
ing, he  perceives  that  there  is  nothing  between  himself 
and  the  Infinite,  as  there  is  no  obstruction  between  his 
head  and  the  vast  blue  dome  above  him. 

Neither  is  there  any  obstruction  around  or  about  him, 
because  he  stands  there  alone.  He  sees  the  vastness  of 
Infinity  in  its  myriad  expressions;  he  also  sees  the 
Grandeur,  Beauty  and  Sublimity  of  it.  This  is  vision. 
Then  in  consciousness  en  rapport  with  the  Infinite  vast- 
ness, the  Soul  exclaims, '  *  I  am  one  with  the  Infinite  Soul. 
I  am  one  with  Conscious  Life,  because  I  feel  the  Oneness 
of  Life.'' 

He  then  hears  from  out  the  vastness  of  the  Infinite,  in 
that  silence  which  is  so  sublime  that  it  is  Divine,  ^'The 
Still  Small  Voice. ' '  In  its  infinite  Sublimity,  that  voice 
speaks  in  the  power  and  the  strength  of  the  rumbling 


Cosmic  Consciousness  447 

thunder  or  in  the  stillness  of  the  zephyrs  which  caress 
him  tenderly  as  he  stands  alone  on  the  heights. 

Man  on  the  summit  visions  the  Infinite  in  its  complete- 
ness and  in  its  nearness,  from  the  center  of  His  own 
being  unto  the  circumference  of  the  vastness  to  which 
there  are  no  bounds.  He  feels  the  Infinite  Presence  as 
the  quiet  winds  blow  upon  him.  He  feels  the  Infinite 
in  the  stillness  of  the  vast  silence  which  surrounds  him. 
He  is  conscious  of  the  One-ness  of  Life  and,  from  that 
high  conscious  union  with  the  Over-Soul,  he  sees  there 
are  no  vacuums  and  no  broken  Life. 

Man,  thus  standing  on  the  summit  of  the  high  moun- 
tain, as  he  sees  the  Wholeness,  the  vastness  and  complete- 
ness of  the  Infinite,  becomes  lost  in  meditation.  His  Ego 
expands;  its  walls  of  partition  diminish  into  nothing; 
and  lo!  he  is  in  the  Ocean  of  Infinity.  There,  the 
individual  realizes  that  he  has  touched  the  Cosmic-Con- 
sciousness. He  then  realizes  that  he  is  an  individual 
expression  of  the  Infinite  Completeness. 

The  Cosmic  Consciousness  becomes  manifest  in  the 
individual  when  man  does  his  part.  When  he  has 
gleaned  the  Light  sufficiently  clear  to  arise  and  start 
upon  his  journey,  it  brings  him  to  the  place  from  whence 
he  departed  in  the  long  ago.  This  is  the  Father's 
House;  and  that  which  he  gained  was  the  mind  which 
he  had  in  Paradise  before  the  World  to  him  had  come 
to  pass;  and  this  mind  now  expresses  in  the  Cosmic- 
Consciousness. 

Man,  then,  when  the  problems  of  the  outer  life  pre- 
sent themselves  to  him,  retires  within  the  secret,  silent 
chamber  of  his  own  Soul  and  in  Love,  Faith  and  Ap- 
preciation communes  with  the  Infinite,  our  Father- 
Mother,  when,  according  to  man's  expressed  desire,  the 
Father  will  respond. 

If  it  should  be  that  the  man  who  has  attained  unto 
the  Cosmic  Consciousness  desires  the  healing  of  one 
of  God's  little  ones  in  a  far  distant  land,  he  softly  and 
lovingly  speaks  it  into  the  ear  of  the  Infinite  which  is 


448  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

ever  present  within  man's  heart.  There  being  only  one 
Infinite,  that  Infinite  responds ;  and  the  man  who  seems 
so  far  away  to  the  man  of  the  earth  is  touched  with 
the  realized  Presence  of  the  Divine  Over-Soul  in  which 
he  is  abiding ;  and  lo !  he  is  healed,  awakeneH  and  blessed. 
As  man's  desire  is  expressed  as  he  then  talks  to  the 
Father,  in  proportion  to  his  Faith  and  understanding 
and  the  intensity  of  his  desire,  it  is  the  Joy  and  Wisdom 
of  God  to  answer. 

In  some  sacred  teachings,  we  read  that  man  must 
arise  above  desire  or,  as  it  is  there  expressed,  above  the 
**  Pairs  of  opposites,"  which  means  the  carnal  mind. 

When  man,  through  his  own  efforts  and  help  from 
the  Father  in  answer  to  his  own  prayers  has  come  to 
the  place  where  his  self-will  (carnal  mind)  is  merged 
into  the  Divine  Will,  he  does  that  which  the  Father  de- 
sires; and,  as  ''God  rests  in  action,"  so  man,  when  he 
has  the  Cosmic- Consciousness,  rests  in  action  and  prays, 
desires,  works  and  does  as  the  Father  desireth. 

While  true  it  is  that  the  Father  is  the  doer,  man 
necessarily  understands  this  and  places  himself  en  rap- 
port with  the  Infinite  One-ness.  Then  he  perceives  that 
the  Infinite-Breath  breathes  in  and  through  him  and 
all  other  manifestations  of  the  Infinite, — the  atoms  of 
the  earth,  the  sand,  vegetation,  animals,  fowls,  water, 
air  and  fire;  and  man  the  Monarch,  man  the  Soul. 

The  Cosmic- Consciousness  realizes  the  one  Life,  the 
chain  of  living-fire.  Love,  which  binds  all  Infinity  in 
one  Great  Whole.  The  Cosmic  man  is  conscious  of  the 
Golden  Chord  of  Love,  which  is  such  a  reality  to  him 
that  he  sees  it  as  a  web  of  ''Molten  Gold,"  so  dainty, 
strong,  sweet  and  sublime,  that  it  holds  all  the  vastness 
in  its  embrace.  Of  this  nectar  he  drinks.  With  this 
Harmony  he  vibrates.  With  this  Soul  he  radiates.  In 
the  Eternal  Action  of  the  Eternal  he  is  in  Eternal  ac- 
tion. In  this  Ocean  he  rests,  and  forever  he  desires  to 
do  that  which  the  Infinite  Intelligence  desires. 


Cosmic  Consciousness  449 

Man  who  has  the  Cosmic-Consciousness  within  him, 
strong  enough  for  him  to  realize  the  ever-present  power 
of  the  Infinite,  ever  rests  in  action  on  the  summit  of 
Illumination  and  sings  praises  to  his  Father  forever 
and  forever. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
SUBLIMITY  OF  BEAUTY 

THERE  is  a  Sublimity,  so  exquisite  and  Divine,  in 
the  Beauty  of  the  Infinite,  that  mortal  man  does 
not  behold  it. 

It  requires  the  Cosmic- Consciousness  in  expression  in 
man,  ere  he  can  inhale  the  perfume  of  the  flowers  which 
bloom  in  their  unchangeable  beauty;  and,  with  the  eye 
of  vision  see  them  in  their  delicate  tintings  and  gor- 
geously attired  expressions  of  Infinite  Beauty. 

Beauty  is  an  attribute  of  the  Infinite;  therefore,  the 
man  who  has  attained  unto  Cosmic-Consciousness  per- 
ceives and  realizes  the  Sublimity  of  Beauty. 

There  is  nothing  common  in  Beauty;  it  is  exquisite 
through  and  through;  it  is  the  smile  of  the  Infinite, 
radiating  a  light  throughout  Itself.  It  is  the  magic 
weaver  enveloping  the  manifetstaions  of  the  Infinite 
in  a  mantle  of  Beauty.  In  its  mystical  Sublimity  it  is 
enfolded  within  the  center  of  each  and  every  expression 
of  God,  be  it  man,  the  mountain  or  the  ocean. 

"When  man  is  heavy  with  the  slumber  of  the  carnal 
life  and  living  in  the  mists  of  the  illusions  of  carnality, 
he  moves  along  in  an  inattentive  state  of  mind  and 
scorns  the  common  flowers  which  grow  by  the  road- 
side. Even  though  they  are  growing  in  such  hard  and, 
many  times,  stony  places,  yet  they  are  expressing 
Beauty,  according  to  their  kind  and  environments,  that 
man  may  be  cheered  as  he  passes  along;  but  man  in 
that  carnal  state  of  perception  sees  not  their  beauty, 
neither  does  he  gain  any  cheer  as  he  passes  them  by, 

450 


Sublimity  of  Beauty  451 

often,  unnecessarily  trampling  them  under  his  feet.  Feet 
are  symbolical  of  understanding,  and,  when  man  is 
awake  spiritually  and  intellectually  his  understanding 
becomes  clear  and  his  feet  light,  and  he  treads  lightly 
as  he  walks  amidst  even  the  common  road-side  flowers. 

Then  it  is  that  man  begins  to  consider  his  fellow 
man,  also,  as  he  walks  along  the  path.  Then,  too,  his 
horizon  extends  and,  as  he  raises  his  eyes  to  look,  he 
sees  the  Beauty  which  is  the  mantle  the  Infinite  has 
spread  over  all  and  with  which  all  are  filled. 

As  man,  through  and  by  understanding,  looks  out 
and  over  the  vastness  of  the  Sublime  Beauty  of  God, 
which  is  everywhere  in  and  through  all,  and  sees  the 
esoteric  Beauty  of  God  there,  he  becomes  quickened, 
and  by  and  by  he  will  see  the  Beauty  of  God  which 
enfolds  him  and  fills  him  to  overflowing.  "When  man 
realizes  that  he  himself  is  embraced  in  the  Infinite 
mantle  of  Beauty  and  filled  with  its  exquisiteness,  he 
then  begins  to  enjoy  the  Beauty  which  Infinite  Love  has 
spread  everywhere. 

Beauty  is  of  God;  it  is  God  expressing  in  His  attri- 
bute of  Beauty;  but  man,  to  see  and  appreciate  the 
Beauty  of  which  we  speak,  must  look  through  the  mask 
of  personality  and  see  the  individuality;  for  it  is  there 
just  as  beautiful,  young  and  trusting  as  when  it  stood 
forth  in  that  dawn  of  creation,  when  *'God  created 
man  in  His  image  and  likeness."  It  is  back  of  nature, 
as  ''its  garment  is  spread"  over  woodland,  mountains 
and  plain,  which  forever  and  aye  is  changing.  There  is 
no  stability  in  nature;  it  is  its  prerogative  to  change, 
because  it  is  the  mask  made  out  of  the  mist  which  the 
man  living  in  the  illusion  of  earth  sees. 

But  when  man  stands  on  the  mountain  of  illumina- 
tion and  with  the  Cosmic- Consciousness  visions  the 
Beauty  of  God  in  its  infinite  manifestations,  he  sees,  in 
all  its  Unchangeableness,  Beauty  and  Sublimity,  the 
Reality  of  that  which  is. 

Then  it  is  that  the  heart  expands  in  Love  and  appre- 


452  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

elation  for  the  Infinite,  in  all  its  Sublime  Beauty  and 
grandeur,  and  in  its  minuteness;  and  the  lips  express 
the  fullness  of  the  heart  in  songs  of  praise. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

LAUGHING  IN  GOD'S  LAW. 

GOD'S  LAW  is  God  in  expression  and  manifesta- 
tion ;  therefore,  it  is  God  in  His  impersonal  state 
and  His  manifested  state. 

God  in  His  unmanifested  state,  the  impersonal,  is  the 
Infinite  Universe  which  contains  all  the  universes  and 
systems  of  universes  which  God  has  expressed  into  form. 
These  are  in  God's  Law  and  that  Law  is  in  operation 
in  and  through  them. 

All  God's  expressions  are  perfect  and  abide  and 
abound  in  Law,  beauty,  harmony  and  rhythm;  and 
man,  who  is  the  ''Crowning  glory  of  God" — he  whom 
''God  created  in  His  image  and  likeness" — being,  a 
perfect  being  in  the  midst  of  perfection,  moves  joyously 
along,  laughing  in  God's  Law. 

When  man  can  fully  realize  the  depth  and  Reality 
of  that  which  is  written  in  the  above  lines,  he  will  bound 
over  rills,  dales  and  mountain  steeps,  and  laughingly 
meet  any  obstacle  which  he  may  encounter;  because 
he  understandingly  knows  that  he  is  in  the  Infinite 
Universe  where  there  are  no  dividing  lines  of  walls  or 
partitions.  He  moves  along  in  blissful  gratitude,  en- 
joying the  Beauty,  Grandeur  and  Sublimity  of  the 
Completeness  and  Perfection  of  it  All;  and  he  laugh- 
ingly lives  in  God's  great  Law. 

In  this  understanding  and  consciousness  of  Perfect 
Freedom,  man  breathes  the  elixir  of  life  in  rhythm  with 
the  One  Life, — the  Invisible,  which  fills  the  Universe 
in  which  he  lives  and  is  God's  House  and  man's  home. 

453 


454  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

In  this  blissful  consciousness,  man,  with  arms  ex- 
tended and  form  erect,  faces  the  storms  and  raging 
billows  and  with  strength  and  loving  gratitude  to  the 
Infinite  bounds  over  them,  sweeping  the  thunder  clouds 
aside.  With  one  grand  stroke  of  majestic  power  he 
hurls  the  dynamo  of  the  cyclone  into  the  depths  of  the 
sea  and  serenely  stands,  thankfully  and  trustingly 
laughingly  in  God's  Law. 

Oh,  the  joy  and  bliss  of  standing  erect,  firmly  estab- 
lished upon  the  Eternal  Rock  of  Truth !  On  that  Rock, 
the  Soul  is  anchored  with  the  strong  chain  of  gold, 
which  is  wisdom,  knowledge,  power,  Love,  courage  and 
humility.  Through  understanding  the  greatness  of  it 
all,  the  intelligence  which  is  God-Intelligence,  operat- 
ing in  and  through  him  at  all  times,  man  can  in  this 
place  of  Ecstasy  and  Bliss  (which  is  the  Cosmic-Con- 
sciousness) look  out  into  the  vastness  of  the  Infinite- 
Perfection,  and  not  one  blur  does  he  see. 

All  the  different  expressions  or  manifestations  of  God 
are  perfect,  living,  moving  and  having  their  being  in 
Perfection.  There  is  freedom  there,  perfect  and  com- 
plete, even  from  the  little  feathered  and  furred  expres- 
sions of  Life,  unto  Man,  the  highest  in  the  mystic  fel- 
lowship of  life.  The  joy,  peace  and  contentment  of 
these  cannot  be  described ;  and  all  are  joyously  laughing 
in  God's  Law. 

There  is  but  one  Presence  there — the  Almighty  God 
of  the  Universe  in  His  infinite  manifestations.  There 
is  but  one  mind  in  operation  in  and  through  all, — God- 
mind.  There  is  but  one  power  sustaining  all, — the  In- 
finite Power.  There  is  but  one  Love  in  all,  and  joining 
all  in  one  embrace, — God-Love,  which  is  the  Infinite 
Love;  and  all  are  living  in  the  one  Law,  acting  in  the 
one  Law,  which  is  God's  Law,  operating  in  and  through 
them.  Man,  living  thus,  is  in  the  perfect  freedom  of  the 
Divine  Man, — at  Home  in  Divinity.  There  can  no 
license,  desire  for  license,  nor  false  idea  of  license,  enter 
here ;  because  when  man  can  understandingly  abide  and 


Laughing  in  God's  Law  455 

move  Laughingly  along  in  God's  Law,  he  has  left  the 
old  man  with  his  carnal  mind  and  beliefs,  fears,  doubts 
and  superstitions  nailed  upon  the  cross  in  that  other 
dimension  from  which  he  came  as  he  climbed  the  moun- 
tain of  Truth. 

Oh,  thou  Infinite  Cosmos,  thou  ever  Present  Perfec- 
tion and  Beauty,  thou  dost  ever  abound  in  Harmony 
and  Peace  so  Sublime  that  the  sweet  music  of  the 
Spheres  is  ever  and  aye  floating  over  the  Strings  of  the 
Infinite  Harp! 

**How  can  man  live  in  such  trusting  attitude  that  he 
can  move  alone  here  and  now,  laughing  in  God's  Law?" 

By  reading  the  instructions  which  are  given  to  the 
individual  in  the  preceding  chapters  of  this  book,  man 
can  learn  the  way  and  how  to  travel  over  that  way 
until  he  arrives  at  the  destination  which  is  illumina- 
tion,— the  illumination  of  the  Laughter  in  God's  Law. 

What  is  man  to  become  illumined  about?  The  Re- 
ality. What  is  the  Reality?  God  and  God  manifest; 
God  in  His  unmanifested  state  and  God  in  manifesta- 
tion in  universes  and  systems  of  universes  and  all  that 
in  them  is, — this  is  the  Real,  the  Unchangeable  and 
Eternal. 

When  man  with  the  Cosmic- Consciousness  looks  into 
the  Cosmos,  which  is  the  Infinite  Universe,  he  under- 
standingly  knows  that  Eternity  is  there.  He  knows, 
with  that  knowing  mind  within  him,  that  time  has 
never  touched  that  sublime  dimension;  therefore,  he 
sees  all  in  youth,  beauty  and  contentment  and  acting  in 
buoyancy  and  joyousness  continually,  forever  and  for- 
ever. 

Eternity  is!  And  in  that  Infinite  Universe,  wherein 
all  universes  dwell,  the  never  changing,  never  ending 
and  never  beginning  Eternity  is,  forever  was,  and  never 
will  cease  to  be;  but  for  man  to  know  this,  he  must 
climb  the  steep  moutnain  of  Truth,  scale  the  very 
heights,  and  on  the  summit,  with  the  Cosmic-Conscious- 
ness, serenely  stand  and  vision  Eternity  and  the  un- 


456  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

changeableness  thereof;  and,  as  he  thus  does,  he  is  lost 
from  the  earth-mist.  Those  who  still  live  there  in  the 
mist  no  longer  know  him,  even  though  they  dwell  in 
the  same  house  or  are  of  the  same  household. 

Man.  standing  on  the  summit,  with  clear  vision  can 
look  into  and  through  the  mist  of  earth  and  he  sees  and 
knows  where  each  and  every  one  who  is  living  in  the 
mist  stands;  and  wise  indeed  are  those  who  are  living 
in  the  mist  and  know  not  the  way  nor  that  other  dimen- 
.sion,  if,  when  they  come  in  touch  with  the  one  who  in 
Cosmic- Consciousness  is  living  in  that  other  dimension, 
they  ask  for  an  explanation  of  that  Divine  Land,  which 
lieth  at  their  very  door,  even  though  they  know  it  not, 
that  he  may  teach  them  and  lead  them  unto  the  same 
heights  where  he  stands. 

As  they  move  along  the  Path,  learning  the  lessons 
from  day  to  day  concerning  the  Great  Reality,  their 
chains  one  by  one  snap  asunder.  First,  the  ignorance 
in  the  mind  begins  to  shift  about  and  finally  is  absorbed 
by  wisdom.  The  effect  of  this  often  expresses  in  the 
body  being  healed  and  the  environments  becoming  har- 
monious. Then  love  and  appreciation  become  evident 
in  his  heart  and  mind  and  expresses  to  those  of  his  fel- 
low men  whom  he  meets  upon  the  great  highway  of  Life. 

Then  it  is,  0  man,  that  you  can  laughingly  live  in 
God's  Law  and  joyously  abide  in  that  concept  which  is 
bliss;  and,  as  you  look  out  into  the  Heart  of  the  In- 
finite and  see  the  verdure  of  its  beauty,  grandeur  and 
sublimity,  you,  as  the  Cosmic-Consicousness  bursts  into 
your  consciousness,  lose  your  limited  concept  of  God, 
Man  and  the  Universe,  and  of  your  own  personal  self. 
You,  then,  see  and  understand,  therefore,  appreciate 
your  individuality,  which  is  your  Real  Self,  which  has 
not  changed  even  from  the  dawn  of  that  great  day,  when 
God  became  manifest  in  your  individuality.  You,  indi- 
vidually, are  a  manifestation  of  the  Infinite,  and  abide 
always  in  the  Infinite  Universe. 

The  Infinite  Eye  sees  man  ever  thus,  even  though 


Laughing  in  God's  Law  457 

through  ignorance  man  has  become  covered  with  the 
debris  of  earth.  The  encasements  of  earth,  being  com- 
posed of  illusions,  do  not  obscure  man  from  the  ever- 
presence  of  the  Infinite.  The  Psalmist,  having  caught 
a  glimpse  of  the  Reality  and  Omnipresence  of  the  In- 
finite, sang:  "Though  I  make  my  bed  in  hell,  Thou  art 
there. '* 

Thus  we  see,  that  man  in  his  deepest  ignorance  and 
darkest  confusion  cannot  stray  beyond  the  Loving  Care 
and  sustaining  Power  of  the  Heavenly  Father. 

And  the  Heavenly  Father  is  ever  whispering  sweet, 
soft  and  low  in  the  even-tide,  at  noon  and  in  the  dark- 
ness of  night ;  and  the  music  of  His  lullaby  brings  love, 
trust,  peace  and  contentment  into  expression  in  man; 
and,  when  man  realizes  that  the  Presence  of  the  Infinite 
is  so  vital  and  Real,  he  will  in  gratitude,  joyously  stand, 
Laughing  in  God's  Law. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
PARADISE. 

IN  the  old,  or  second  dispensation,  n^an,  not  having 
the  clear  vision  of  the  Christ-consicousness,  taught 
and  believed  that  Paradise  was  a  place  prepared 
for  those  of  earth's  children  who  were  pronounced  by 
priest  and  clergy  worthy  to  enter  that  abode  after  they 
had  passed  through  death;  therefore,  they  placed  it  far 
away ;  and  the  poets  under  that  concept  sang  their  songs 
of  that  beautiful  land  over  there  and  that  far  away 
home  of  the  Soul  and  of  the  pearly  gates  that  will 
swing  ajar  by-and-by. 

Those  living  in  Christendom  and  walking  upon  the 
Christian  Path,  have  had  the  message  that  Jesus  Christ 
of  Nazareth  gave,  all  these  centuries,  since  that  day  in 
the  river  Jordan  when  the  Holy  Ghost  descended  upon 
Jesus,  after  John  had  baptized  Him  in  the  water  of  that 
river;  but  the  past  two  thousand  years  being  the  sowing 
age  and  not  the  full  harvest  time,  man  can  only  catch 
the  true  meaning  of  it,  as  in  the  springtime  the  plow- 
man rejoices  and  courageously  plows  the  ground,  har- 
rows it  and  sows  the  seed,  because  he  in  some  (to  him) 
mysterious  way  feels  the  assurance  of  the  harvest  as 
his  faith  detects  the  odor  from  the  far  distant  fields  of 
golden  grain. 

That  being  the  springtime, — the  sowing  season  of  the 
dispensation,  man  necessarily  either  looked  back  to  the 
old,  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  the  winter,  or,  forward  to 
the  third  dispensation,  the  summer,  or  harvest  time. 
Man  living  thus,  read  the  scripture  and  study  its  sacred 

458 


Paradise  459 

pages  in  and  through  its  letter  and  see  Paradise  a  beau- 
tiful land  some  place  afar  in  the  skies. 

As  long  as  man  studies  the  message  of  the  blessed 
Bible,  or  Bibles,  in  its  letter  he  misses  the  mystical 
depths  which  the  Spiritually  awakened  man  finds. 

As  long  as  man  has  only  an  intellectual  understand- 
ing of  the  scriptures,  he  perceives  not  that  Divine  sub- 
limity of  the  very  presence  of  the  Living  God,  which 
is  behind  the  message  which  God  caused  to  be  given  to 
the  men  of  earth.  Just  as  a  blind  man,  holding  a  rose 
in  his  hand,  knows  it  is  there,  and  he  can  tear  it  to 
pieces  petal  by  petal  and  throw  them  to  the  winds ;  yet 
he  sees  not  its  beauty. 

The  perfume  and  beauty  of  the  rose  is  there,  brought 
into  expression  by  God;  but  it  is  that  intangible  and 
mystical  presence  over  which  man  has  no  control. 

The  third  dispensation,  the  Spiritual  Age,  or  the  one- 
thousand-year-day  of  the  Spirit's  reign,  is  that  in  which 
man  is  awake  with  the  Christ  born  in  him  and  ex- 
pressed in  Cosmic-Consciousness.  Then  man  perceives 
that  the  beauty  and  perfume  of  the  rose  is  that  delicate 
yet  substantial  thing  which  (even  though  not  compre- 
hended by  the  intellect)  belongs  to  Paradise  and  is  per- 
ceived by  the  Soul.  In  the  Spirit  Age,  the  reign  of  the 
Spirit  with  Christ  in  His  personal  and  impersonal  as- 
pect, man  learns  the  deeper  truths  of  the  message  of 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  and  perceives  that  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  is  within  man,  and  that  God,  the  Father- 
Mother,  abides  within  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  which 
is  the  reign  of  Harmony.  As  Jesus  taught  that  He 
and  the  Father  are  one,  so  man,  each  and  all,  when 
awakened  in  this  age,  can  perceive  that  Jesus'  message 
was  direct  to  the  individual  and  that  the  individual  is 
to  come  into  the  understanding  and  realization  of  his 
at-one-ment  with  the  Father. 

When  man  thus  stands  (having  climbed  the  steep, 
rugged  mountain  of  Truth)  on  the  Mount  of  Transfig- 
uration,  with   the    Christ-Consciousness   expressing   in 


460  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

and  through  him,  he  visions  with  the  eye  of  vision  the 
landscape,  o*er,  in  its  vastness,  grandeur,  beauty  and 
sublimity ;  he  then  and  there  knows  that  he  is  in  Para- 
dise, and  that  he  has  arrived  there  in  and  through  the 
Spiritual  message  contained  within  the  message  of  our 
Elder  Brother,  without  passing  through  death. 

Then,  indeed,  man  in  understanding,  with  the  eye  of 
vision  and  the  mind  of  Christ,  abides  in  Paradise  here 
and  now  and  joyously  and  thankfully  remembers  his 
at-one-ment  with  the  Father-Mother ;  which  is  the  Love, 
the  Light,  the  Joy  and  the  Peace  of  the  Paradisiacal 
Home. 


CHAPTER  XX 
INSPIRATION. 

IN  this  period  the  men  of  earth  of  all  lands  and 
climes  in  great  numbers  are  awakening  from  the 
long  slumber  in  the  dream  of  carnality  and  reach- 
ing out  for  Light,  that  they  may  learn  which  way  is 
the  direct  one  for  them  to  travel,  so  that  they  may 
reach  the  open  field  where  the  Light  is  clear  and  bright, 
leaving  the  forest  of  illusions  behind. 

This  age,  being  the  harvest  time,  or  period  upon  earth 
when  many  souls  of  men  will  glean  the  Light  sufficiently 
clear  and  strong  to  enable  them  to  find  the  Sacred  Path, 
where  at  this  time  the  final  stage  can  be  passed  as  they 
understandingly  step,  by  the  help  of  God,  aside  from 
the  wheel  of  Birth  and  Death. 

This  is  the  cycle  when  it  is  prophesied  that  all  men 
shall  hear  the  gospel  of  Truth ;  and  the  Infinite  Father, 
He  who  holds  the  universes  in  His  hand  and  knows 
not  their  weight,  is  guiding  the  destiny  of  humanity, 
collectively  and  individually,  and  causing  the  Light  to 
shine  as  Truth  is  taught  in  many  different  expressions, 
so  that  all  men  may  hear  it  sound  in  a  key  that  will 
interest  and  instruct  them. 

There  are  some  who  awaken  only  in  one  fold  of  their 
being, — the  mind.  These  require  the  mental  thera- 
peutics ;  and  the  suggestions  of  hynotism  appeal  to  them. 
Then  there  are  others  who  awaken  in  the  Spiritual  na- 
ture only ;  these  require  the  Spiritual  bread  which  comes 
direct  from  the  Father-Mother,  and  they  need  to  drink 
of  the  living  water  of  which  Jesus  spake  when  He  talked 

461 


462  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

to  the  woman  of  Samaria  who  came  to  the  well  to  get 
water. 

Then  again  there  are  those  who,  when  they  perceive 
that  the  physical  body  becomes  healthy  and  strong  from 
the  study  of  the  message  in  some  form,  care  for  naught 
except  physical  healing. 

The  Infinite,  our  Heavenly  Father-Mother,  blesses 
each  one  according  to  his  desire;  and  man  desires  ac- 
cording to  his  understanding.  **As  a  man  thinketh  in 
his  heart,  so  is  he,"  was  said  by  one  who  was  out  of 
due  season  and  had  gained  sufficient  Light  to  get  close 
enough  to  God  to  finally,  in  the  midst  of  his  tribula- 
tions, turn  trustingly  to  the  Infinite,  and  Job  exclaimed, 
''Though  He  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  Him."  He  also 
caught  a  flash  of  inspiration  when  he  said:  *'In  my 
flesh  shall  I  see  God." 

Inspiration  reveals  to  the  awakened  Soul,  living  here 
on  this  planet,  that  man  here  and  now  must  learn  to 
know  and  see  God. 

This  is  the  cycle,  the  thousand-year-day,  when  the 
men  of  earth  shall  awaken  and  become  conscious  sons 
of  God. 

When  a  man  is  a  conscious  Son  of  God,  he,  like  Jesus, 
will  talk  face  to  face  with  the  Heavenly  Father;  and, 
as  the  Father  answers  His  beloved  sons,  they  feel  the 
inspiration  of  His  Presence ;  and  He  speaks  the  silent 
language  of  the  Divine  Soul  within  man. 

When  man  has  scaled  the  heights  and  has  the  Christ- 
Consciousness  in  expression  within  him,  he,  with  the 
vision  of  the  redeemed  man,  sees  God  in  expression  all 
about  him;  and  on  that  Mount  of  Vision  he  is  always 
inspired  by  God  Himself,  in  and  through  the  Spiritual 
center  of  the  Infinite  within  man.  Man's  heart  is  the 
spiritual  center  within  man,  where  he  talks  face  to  face 
with  the  Father-Mother-God. 

On  this  Mount,  man  understands  that  the  ear  of  the 
Infinite  is  near,  within  him  and  everywhere,  and  knows 
that  when  he  voices  his  prayer  in  the  silence  of  his  own 


Inspiration  463 

being,  it  is  heard  by  the  Infinite  ear  which  hears  every- 
where, the  Infinite,  speaking  within,  teaches  and  leads 
him  into  all  Truth.  Man  then,  if  he  so  desires  and  de- 
crees, requires  not  books,  even  though  they  are  the 
Sacred  Bibles,  because  he  consciously  talks  to  the  In- 
finite and  the  Infinite  reveals  to  him  those  inspiring 
Truths  which  he  requires,  that  he  may  know  how  to 
pass  along  upon  the  Sacred  Path. 

The  Loving  Father  inspires  man  with  "Wisdom,  knowl- 
edge and  Intelligence.  His  ''Still,  Small  Voice*'  is  ever 
whispering  soft  and  low;  and,  when  man  has  been  born 
into  the  Spiritual  Kingdom  by  and  through  the  New 
Birth,  he  hears,  obeys  and  thankfully  and  joyously  ap- 
preciates this  inspiration  which  comes  directly  to  him 
from  God  the  Father. 

God  ever  leaves  man  free  to  use  his  own  self-will,  or 
lay  it  on  the  alter  of  the  consuming  fire, — God  Love. 

Jesus  Christ,  being  inspired  by  the  Father  (let  us 
here  call  attention  to  the  example  of  Jesus  Christ  in  re- 
gard to  prayer,  and  remember  that  He  admonished  the 
disciples  of  Truth  to  pray  without  ceasing)  went  out 
and  upon  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  was  inspired  and 
instructed  by  the  Father,  and  talked  as  easily  to  Moses 
and  Elias  as  He  did  to  Peter,  James  and  John.  Moses 
and  Elias  were  sent  as  individual  Souls  to  instruct  and 
assist  Jesus  in  that  experience  through  which  he  was 
soon  to  pass. 

When  man  here  on  this  earth-plane,  after  the  New 
Birth,  through  illumination  into  the  Christ- Conscious- 
ness, arrives  at  and  stands  upon  the  Mount  of  Trans- 
figuration and  realizes  his  at-one-ment  with  the  Father, 
he  will  talk  with  the  **I  AM  that  I  AM''  as  easily  and 
consciously  as  to  his  fellow  man.  With  his  eye  of  vision 
he  perceives  that  he  is  at  ''Home"  in  the  Father's 
House,  the  Universe.  He  then  can  meet  the  individual 
Souls  in  any  plane  and  commune  with  them,  if  Wisdom 
decrees  it  thus;  but  he  can  never  become  controlled  by 


464  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

any  of  them,  because  God,  Himself,  the  Only  Mind,  is 
the  reigning  sovereign  of  his  individuality. 

There  are  those  who  claim  inspiration  which  comes 
to  them  from  the  spirit  of  departed  friends  and  loved 
ones;  but  these,  not  having  the  highest  light,  permit 
outside  influences  to  control  them  and  mistakenly  call 
this  inspiration. 

There  is  in  reality  only  one  source  of  inspiration, 
and  that  is  God ;  and  one  inspiration,  and  that  is  direct 
from  God  to  man. 

The  prophets  communed  and  conversed  with  God. 
Moses  in  the  beginning  of  the  first  dispensation  talked 
with  God  and  God  inspired  him  and  revealed  to  him 
His  message  which  he  was  to  teach  to  the  Hebrew  chil- 
dren, and  gave  him  the  courage,  faith  and  ability  to 
carry  out  the  instructions  which  were  given  him.  The 
communications  of  God  to  Moses  were  given  face  to  face. 

Jesus  Christ  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  dispen- 
sation talked  to  the  Father ;  and  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Third  Dispensation,  which  is  already  being  ushered  in, 
the  awakened  man  being  born  into  the  Spirit  and  hav- 
ing attained  unto  the  Christ- Consciousness,  talks  face 
to  face  with  God  and  receives  inspiration  direct  from 
the  Father,  who  speaks  within  man;  and,  as  Jesus  re- 
ceived inspiration  from  the  Great  Masters  whom  God 
sent  to  Him,  such  as  Moses  and  Elias,  man  is  inspired 
and  helped  by  the  Master-Souls  of  this  Age. 

There  are  masters  many;  great  Souls  who  are  com- 
ing near  humanity  at  this  time  to  teach  the  men  of  the 
earth  according  to  their  degree  of  unfoldment;  there- 
fore, when  a  man  speaks  under  the  inspiration  of  one 
of  these,  he  reaches  as  high  as  that  Master  has  gone, 
as  high  as  man's  ability  to  receive  inspiration;  but  when 
man  talks  direct  to  the  Father  and  consciously  hears 
the  silent  voice  within  him,  instructing  and  inspiring 
him,  he  draws  the  answer  direct  from  the  Infinite  In- 
telligence, the  answer  to  his  requests. 


Inspiration  465 

The  man  on  the  mountain  top  will  desire  to  know  the 
whole  Truth,  the  breadth,  height  and  depth  thereof; 
but  the  little  one  who  has  at  first  heard  that  wonderful 
voice  of  the  Infinite,  so  profound  and  awe-inspiring  to 
the  babe,  asks,  perhaps,  only  for  the  Truths  which  lie 
on  the  border-line  of  the  illimitable  ocean  of  God's  In- 
finity. 

However,  there  is  no  higher  source  for  man  to  attain 
unto  for  wisdom,  knowledge  and  intelligence,  for  Faith, 
Love  and  Divine  Satisfaction,  than  to  understandingly 
be  still  in  the  Sacred  Silence  of  the  Infinite  and  there 
commune  with  his  Father-Mother-God.  Then  remem- 
ber that  there  is  nothing  great  or  trivial  with  the  In- 
finite Mind,  who  ''Notes  even  the  sparrow's  fall"  and 
''numbers  the  very  hairs  of  your  head";  so,  in  that 
secret  place  talk  to  the  Loving  Father  and  He  will  in- 
spire you  with  the  direct  answer  of  those  things  which 
you  desire  to  know. 

Then,  dear  student-devotee,  when  you  desire  wisdom, 
"Ask  of  God";  when  you  desire  knowledge,  "Ask  of 
God";  when  you  require  intelligence,  "Ask  of  God." 
When  man  learns  that  he  is  a  son  of  God,  he  trustingly 
and  lovingly  will  go  direct  to  the  Secret  Place  of  the 
Most  High  and  there  commune  with  that  ever-present 
Love,  Wisdom  and  Intelligence. 

The  departed  spirits  do,  and  can  return ;  but  they  can 
only  convey  according  to  their  knowledge  gained  here 
on  earth;  and  very  many  are  misled  by  them  and  held 
from  moving  forward  beyond  the  light  of  the  spirits 
who  control  them. 

Masters  of  Wisdom  there  are,  who  are  also  masters 
of  Love  and  Compassion,  who  are  giving  much  Light 
to  the  men  of  earth  and  are  filling  their  place  in  help- 
ing those  who  are  still  bound  to  the  Wheel  of  Birth 
and  Death. 

Jesus  Christ,  the  Great  Initiate,  gave  the  final  Truth 
which  will  assist  the  man  who  is  in  the  place  where  he 
is  to  step  aside  from  the  Wheel  of  Birth  and  Death,  and 


466  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

with  the  Christ- Consciousness  commune  direct  with 
Jesus  Christ  and  the  Father.  This  is  unity  wrought  out 
in  man, — Father,  Son  and  Holy  Spirit;  and  the  Father 
inspires  His  Son  always.    So  Be  It ! 


CHAPTER  XXI 
PRAYER. 

DOWN  the  ages  man  has  expressed  his  desire  in 
prayer.  What  is  prayer?  It  is  that  Something 
which  enables  man  to  look  away  from  the  frailty 
and  limitations  of  the  carnal  man  to  the  Infinite.  The 
people  call  this  Infinite  by  names  according  to  their 
language.  When  man  feels  his  helplessness,  he  intu- 
itively knows  that  there  is  a  higher  power  which  can 
assist  him,  and  the  desires  of  his  heart  are  expressed 
in  accents  clear  and  strong,  calling  unto  this  higher 
power;  and  man  calls  this  prayer. 

Instinct  in  the  savage  of  the  forest  causes  him  to  pile 
a  few  stones  together  as  an  altar  and  there  worship 
the  Great  Invisible  Presence. 

The  American  Indian,  his  instincts  nearing  the  line 
where  they  burst  into  intuition,  has  a  deeper  and 
broader  idea  of  God  than  the  savage  who  bows  before 
a  few  stones  as  an  altar;  and  he  prays  to  the  ''Great 
Spirit. '' 

Thus  we  find  that  there  is  inherent  in  man,  from  the 
savage  state  to  the  most  civilized,  a  desire  for  prayer. 

Prayer,  then,  is  that  indefinable  desire  of  man^s  heart 
to  reach  unto  the  Infinite,  The  Father,  and  implore  His 
assistance  and  guidance.  It  is  the  language  of  the  Soul 
of  Man  in  communion  with  the  great  Over-Soul;  and 
the  Over-Soul  responds  according  to  man^s  prayer. 

Then  it  is  plain  to  be  seen  that  man  should  know 
how  to  pray.  St.  James  said,  "Your  prayers  are  not 
answered  because  you  ask  amiss."     Man  continues  to 

467 


468  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

ask  amiss  until  he  has  gained  understanding.  Solo- 
mon, who  is  called  the  wisest  man  (wisest  because  he 
asked  God  to  give  him  wisdom  to  rule  over  **  These, 
God^s  people*'),  said,  ''With  all  thy  getting,  get  un- 
derstanding. * ' 

Then,  to  understandingly  pray  a  prayer  which  causes 
the  Infinite  to  respond,  necessitates  knowing  God,  His 
nearness  and  Loving  Care;  and  knowing  that  His  In- 
telligence is  so  alert  that,  not  a  ''sparrow  falleth  but  He 
knoweth,'*  and,  that  the  very  "hairs  of  your  head  are 
numbered*';  and  that  "He  knows  man's  every  thought, 
word  and  deed,"  and  that  God's  Love  is  so  great  that 
He  holds  His  children,  who  are  Himself  in  manifesta- 
tion, forever  in  His  everlasting  arms,  sustains  them  with 
His  own  strength;  and  His  mantle  over  them  is  Love. 

Then,  when  the  urge  of  the  Soul  moves  man  into  the 
spirit  of  prayer,  be  the  man  the  savage  in  the  jungles 
or  the  civilized  man,  it  is  then  that  the  language  of  the 
Soul  begins  to  express  and  man  desires  to  commune 
with  that  Great  Presence  whom  the  intuition  of  his 
Soul  causes  him  to  believe  exists. 

When  man  has  understanding,  he  enters  the  Silent 
Chamber  of  the  Infinite,  which  is  in  the  silence  of 
man's  own  Soul.  Man,  from  the  Christ- Consciousness 
within  himself,  realizes  that  he  is  in  the  center  of  the 
Living  God  and  that  man,  the  individual  manifesta- 
tion of  God,  is  living,  moving  and  having  his  being  in 
this  Great  Heart.  He  in  faith.  Love  and  trust  enters 
into  the  silent  chamber  of  his  own  Soul,  which  is  for- 
ever at  one  with  the  Great  Soul  of  God;  and,  in  that 
sweet  hallowed  Silence,  the  language  of  the  Soul  flows 
forth  to  the  great  Loving  Presence;  and  the  Infinite 
ever  responds  and  man  is  refreshed,  strengthened,  en- 
couraged and  blessed  in  proportion  to  the  expressed 
desire  of  his  heart  and  the  understanding  expressions 
of  his  prayer.  Jesus  Christ  is  our  example  in  this ;  and 
He  talked  to  the  Father  as  comprehensively  as  man 
would  talk  to  man. 


CHAPTER  XXII 
THE  BOUNTY  OF  GOD. 

THE  Infinite  is  Bounty.  In  the  Infinite,  our  God, 
there  is  no  lack.  It  is  the  inexhaustible  source 
from  which  all  beauty  proceeds. 

When  man  stands  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration 
and  the  Christ- Consciousness  is  lighting  him  into  full 
illumination,  and  with  the  Cosmic  Consciousness  visions 
into  the  vastness  of  the  greatness  and  sublimity  of  the 
Infinite,  he  then  sees,  he  perceives,  he  realizes  that  there 
is  bounty,  abundant  Bounty,  throughout  infinity.  Man, 
having  come  into  the  understanding  concerning  God 
and  having  through  the  Christ-consciousness  with- 
in him  realized  that  he  is  the  son  of  the  Living  God, 
then  knows  that  he  is  heir  to  the  Inheritance  of  this 
vast  Store-house  of  Infinite  Bounty. 

Then,  to  convince  himself  that  he  has  visioned  cor- 
rectly, he  turns  to  the  Bible  and  reads  there  that  ''God 
created  man  in  His  image  and  likeness,'*  and  that  man 
is  acknowledged  to  be  the  ''Crowning  Glory  of  God," 
and  that  God  endowed  man  with  dominion  over  those 
things  which  man  should  subdue. 

What  are  those  things  that  man  should  subdue,  when 
he  is  inspired  by  Divine  Wisdom?  It  does  not  mean 
that  man  should  go  forth  and  slay  all  the  animals,  be 
they  wild  or  domestic,  which  cross  his  path  contrary  to 
his  desires.  No,  that  is  a  very  small  ray  of  that  "Light 
which  lighteth  every  man  who  cometh  into  the  world" 
expressing  in  him. 

Man  is,  in  Divine  Wisdom  and  in  God's  plan,  to  sub- 

469 


470  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

due  the  animal  propensities  within  himself.  These  are 
anger,  malice,  jealousy,  revenge,  hatred,  fear,  doubt  and 
superstition;  and  these  can  all  be  placed  under  one 
classification,  and  that  is  Selfishness. 

When  man  stands  a  master  over  all  the  evil  propen- 
sities of  the  carnal  mind  to  such  an  extent  that  man  is 
lost — emerged  into  the  Infinite  Intelligence — ^then  indeed 
it  is  that,  he  from  the  summit  of  the  Mountain  of  Truth 
can  look  understandingly  into  the  Bounty  of  God  and 
know  that  he  is  heir  to  all  the  works  of  God. 

**The  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  the  fullness  thereof.'* 
Man  understanding  this  perceives  that  the  Father,  ac- 
cording to  the  allegory  in  Genesis,  created  the  bounty  of 
all  God's  universes  and  systems  of  universes  and  all 
within  them  before  He  caused  man  to  become  manifest. 

Thus  we  can  easily  see  that  God  caused  man,  each 
and  all  of  the  human  family,  to  become  manifest  in 
the  midst  of  the  Bounty  of  God.  Man  was  placed  in 
the  midst  of  God's  manifested  bounty,  ''The  crowning 
glory,"  or  highest  manifestation  of  God. 

We  can  then  see  that  God  has  in  His  Love  and  Care 
manifested  in  such  abundant  Bounty,  that  man  has 
naught  to  do,  after  he  has  returned  home  from  that  dis- 
tant country,  but  to  trustingly  abide  in  and  partake  of 
God's  Bounty. 

But  man's  reason  springs  into  view  and  he  reasons 
like  this:  ** There  is  an  abundance  in  my  Father's 
House;  and  while  true  it  is  that  my  Father  gave  me 
my  inheritance  when  I  left  Home,  and  I  have  spent  it 
in  this  far  country  "in  riotous  living,"  being  dom- 
inated by  the  carnal  mind,  its  passions,  lusts  and  de- 
sires; however,  I  will  return  and  be  satisfied  to  take 
the  place  of  a  servant,  "because  there  is  sufficient  food 
in  my  Father's  House,  even  for  the  servants." 

When  he  arrived  in  the  robe  of  humility  where  he 
was  willing  to  become  a  servant  in  his  own  Father's 
House,  the  Infinite  Love,  having  never  lost  sight  of  him, 


The  Bounty  of  God  471 

and  knowing  every  thought  in  his  mind  and  desire  in 
his  heart,  came  to  meet  him,  gave  him  a  robe  to  be 
clothed  with  and  placed  a  ring  upon  his  hand. 

This  ring  is  a  symbol  of  the  complete  circle  which 
man  has  traversed,  from  the  day  he  went  out  from  the 
Father's  House,  to  this  day  when  he  has  arrived  at 
Home.  It  is  a  symbol  of  unity,  and  this  unity  is  man's 
becoming  illumined  by  and  through  the  Christ-conscious- 
ness and  realizing  his  One-ness  and  his  At-one-ment 
with  the  Infinite,  our  Loving  and  tender  Father. 

We  can  then  see  that  God  has  put  into  expression 
and  pronounced  His  works  perfect  and  finished.  "Then 
God  rested  from  all  the  works  which  He  had  done." 

Then  it  is  man's  provence,  when  he  awakens  and  dis- 
covers he  is  in  a  far  country,  to  arise  and  return  Home. 
When  man  arrives  at  Home,  his  Father  announces,  *^My 
Son  who  was  dead  is  alive  again";  **Who  was  lost,  is 
found."  Here  is  where  man,  in  conscious  understand- 
ing, when  he  is  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration  with 
the  Christ-consciousness  illuminating  him,  looks  out  into 
the  Infinite  Universe  and  sees  with  the  inner  eye  of 
vision  the  perfection  of  all,  the  grandeur  of  it  all,  and 
the  sublimity  of  all  expressed  Perfection  abiding  in  the 
Law  which  is  God  in  Action;  and  all  acting  in  perfect 
precision  in  the  One  Law,  and  it  acting  in  and  through 
all.  Man  then  realizes  the  profound  Sublimity  of  Per- 
fection and  the  limitlessness  of  God's  Bounty. 

Man,  there,  can  understand  the  grandeur,  the  great- 
ness and  beauty  of  the  sermon,  Jesus  Christ  gave,  called 
the  ** Sermon  on  the  Mount."  Jesus  there  told  them 
to  take  no  thought  for  the  morrow.  He  said,  ' '  Consider 
the  lilies ;  they  toil  not,  neither  do  they  spin ;  yet  Solo- 
mon in  all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these. ' ' 
The  lily,  Jesus  used  as  a  symbol  of  man  in  his  trans- 
muted and  redeemed  state;  and  man,  to  have  attained 
unto  that  great  height,  has  understanding,  insight  and 


472  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

illumination;  and  in  that  Christ-consciousness  he  has 
reverence  for  the  Father,  who  is  so  great,  yet  so  ten- 
der, and  faith  in  the  Infinite  and  in  himself,  a  mani- 
festation of  the  Infinite. 

Then,  in  confiding  confidence  and  loving  gratitude 
to  the  Father,  he  abides  at  "Home"  and  knowingly 
knows  his  Father  has,  even  "Before  he  called,"  pre- 
pared a  bounty  so  abundant  that  lack  could  never  enter 
the  portals  of  that  Infinite  Home. 

Man,  then,  thankfully  abides  in  that  Infinite  Home, 
the  Father's  House,  which  is  the  Universe,  and  which 
enfolds  the  myriad  of  systems  of  universes  and  all  with- 
in them. 

Jesus,  in  His  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  said:  ''Take  no 
thought  for  the  morrow;  because  sufficient  unto  the  day 
is  the  evil  thereof."  When  man  is  a  conscious  Son  of 
God,  he  trusts  in  the  Father's  Bounty  and  takes  no 
anxious  thought  about  those  things  which  man  needs 
for  the  outer  man. 

When  man,  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  needs 
the  things  of  the  outer  world,  .he  does  not  permit  him- 
self to  become  anxious  about  them;  but  he,  having 
visioned  into  the  bounty  of  the  Infinite  Store-house, 
enters  into  the  Silent  Chamber  of  God,  which  center  is 
in  the  Silent  Chamber  of  each  man's  Soul,  and  there  he 
communes  with  the  Father-Mother;  and  the  promise  in 
the  Bible  is, — ''Ask  what  ye  will  and  it  shall  be  done," — 
if  spoken  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  perfect  expression  or  manifesta- 
tion of  the  Infinite.  Then,  when  man  in  the  silent 
chamber  of  his  own  Soul,  in  communion  with  the  Father, 
voices  his  prayer  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  prayer 
is  answered  in  the  manifestation  of  the  thing  asked. 
Jesus  prayed  and  the  loaves  and  the  fishes  became  man- 
ifest from  that  invisible  Store-house  of  the  Infinite. 

Man,  on  the  Summit  of  the  Mountain  of  Truth,  has 
no  selfishness  within  him.  If  he  had,  he  would  not 
have  reached  the  Summit. 


The  Bounty  of  God  473 

Love,  Appreciation,  Devotion,  Sincerity  and  Grati- 
tude are  the  keys  used  by  man,  as  he  stands  on  the 
Summit  of  the  Mountain  of  Truth.  These  keys  will  un- 
lock the  door  of  God's  Store-house  of  Bounty  and  en- 
able man  to  reach  forth  his  hand  and  partake  thereof 
abundantly. 

There  can  be  no  desire  to  hoard  those  things  which 
man  receives  from  the  Bounty  of  God,  because,  he  ever 
remembers  the  greatness  of  the  Bounty  which  he  beheld 
when  he  looked  into  that  Infinite  Store-house.  Then, 
too,  he  understandingly  knows  and  fully  realizes  that 
he  is  heir  there  unto;  and  in  that  realm  all  things  are 
in  their  right  place,  and  each  and  all  are  living,  moving 
and  acting  in  the  Law  of  God;  therefore,  there  are  no 
mistakes,  no  clashes,  because  all  are  intelligently  in  their 
right  place. 

Man  here,  having  the  Christ-consciousness,  ever  rests 
in  action;  and  he  is  ever  awake,  alert,  and  active  in  the 
Divine  Law.  Therefore,  man  rests  in  action  as  he  moves 
in  and  among  his  fellow  man  upon  the  Path  of  life,  and 
ever  does  his  part  and,  there  being  no  selfishness  in  him, 
expects  naught  from  his  fellow  man,  only  as  he  gives 
in  return. 

This  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  Law;  and  God  is  as  able 
to  manifest  in  the  things  which  man  requires  today  as 
he  was  to  manifest  in  creation  at  the  dawn. 

Therefore,  the  summing  up  of  the  whole  matter  is 
this:  There  is  the  bountiful  Store-house  of  the  Infinite 
ever  at  hand;  and  when  man  realizes  this,  and  under- 
standingly speaks  the  prayer  which  is  guided  by  Divine 
Wisdom,  he  will  never  lack;  but  he  will  ever  be  ready 
and  willing  to  do  that  which  his  hands  find  to  do. 

When  Divine  Contentment  and  Satisfaction  abound 
in  man,  he  is  ever  about  his  Father's  business  and  con- 
scious of  the  Bounty  of  God. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
THE  HIGHWAY  OF  OUR  GOD. 

OUR  God  is  Supreme;  therefore,  the  Highway  of 
our  God  is  that  Way  which  is  above  all  ma- 
teriality; above  all  the  fleshly  man's  desires,  be- 
liefs and  knowledge. 

None  but  the  conscious  sons  of  God  can  walk  upon 
the  highway  of  our  God.  Jesus  Christ  said,  ''Flesh 
and  blood  cannot  enter  there."  Thus  we  perceive  that 
man's  flesh  is  transmuted  from  matter  to  Spirit, — that 
Spirit-Substance  which  is  God's  Body  and  fills  the  Uni- 
verse; and  that  the  blood  becomes  the  electric  current 
of  the  River  of  Life. 

Jesus  Christ  took  His  body  out  from  the  tomb  but 
the  blood — the  material  blood — was  shed  while  He  was 
on  the  Cross ;  therefore,  while  His  body  lay  in  the  tomb, 
God  could  easily  fill  the  veins  in  His  body  with  the  elec- 
tric current  of  the  River  of  Life,  which  ever  flows  from 
the  Heart  of  God. 

The  Highway  of  our  God  is  resplendent  with  the  ex- 
quisiteness  of  the  heavenly  way,  which  leads  in  and 
throughout  the  pastures  green,  the  fields  golden  and  the 
flowers  beautiful,  and  these  express  Paradise. 

When  man  walks  upon  the  Highway  of  our  God,  he 
will  see  the  oneness  of  God  throughout  the  vastness  of 
infinity;  and  he  will  also  see  the  brotherhood  of  man- 
kind. 

On  the  Highway  of  our  God,  there  is  no  distinction 
between  races  or  nationalities,  neither  between  the  rich 
and  the  poor,  nor  the  different  religious  doctrines,  nor 

474 


The  Highway  op  Our  God  475 

the  various  cults,  as  nothing  counts  here  except  the 
pass-word,  and  that  is  the  Christ-consciousness.  When 
man  has  this,  he  does  not  need  to  announce  to  the  peo- 
ple that  he  has  attained  unto  those  heights,  because  all 
men  with  whom  he  comes  in  touch  knows  he  has  drunk 
from  the  Christ-cup. 

That  nectar  which  man  finds  in  the  Christ-cup  fills 
man  with  humility,  tolerance,  gentleness  and  brotherly- 
kindness,  and  these  radiate  from  him  in  smiles  of  cheer 
to  his  fellow  man  as  he  sees  him  carrying  burdens  of 
care, — in  a  word  of  encouragement  to  the  discouraged 
one,  in  a  genial  welcome  to  the  stranger,  and  in  a  prayer 
for  those  in  affliction  and  distress.  When  man  drinks 
the  nectar,  which  is  in  the  cup  of  the  Christ-mind  and 
Heart,  he  walks  upon  the  Highway  of  our  God. 

Walking  upon  this  Highway  which  lieth  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  Paradise,  man  laughingly 
lives  in  God's  Law  and  understandingly  abides  in  the 
living  Presence  of  the  Father. 

No  clouds  cast  even  a  fringe  of  their  presence  there, 
for  the  sunlight  of  God  shines  there,  and  it  is  so  bright, 
strong  and  clear  that  nothing  can  mar  its  brilliancy; 
and  no  discord  can  enter  that  Paradise  of  Beauty,  Light, 
Glory  and  Peace; — no,  not  one  discordant  note  can 
strike  in  all  that  Sublime  Vastness. 

The  harmonious  vibrations  fill  all  the  land  of  Para- 
dise and  man  walks  upon  the  Highway  of  our  God, 
which  he  finds  there. 

Mortal  man !  Thou  who  art  still  asleep  in  the  dream 
of  the  carnal  illusion,  thou  canst  never  walk  upon  the 
Highway  of  our  God  until  thou  awakest  from  the  Adam- 
Slumber.  Arise!  and  search  out  that  Highway;  then 
gain  understanding  as  to  how  to  enter  its  greatening 
splendor.  All  men  will  sometime  awaken  from  the  sleep 
of  carnality,  which  the  first  Adam  plunged  man  into, 
and  walk  in  that  Light  which  Jesus  came  to  earth  to 
bring  and  teach  and  let  shine. 


476  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

God,  our  Infinite  Father,  did  not  cause  creation  to 
come  forth  into  manifestation,  the  universes  and  sys- 
tems of  universes  to  abound,  that  only  a  few  men  might 
be  redeemed  from  the  Adam-illusion,  but  that  all  men 
may ;  and  not  only  that,  but  that  all  men  may  be  saved 
and  stand  again  in  Paradise  in  the  Presence  of  the 
Father,  who  then  is  as  Real  to  the  Conscious  Son  of  God 
as  man  is  real  to  another  in  the  natural  life. 

To  live  in  that  land  and  walk  upon  the  Highway  of 
our  God,  man  is  quickened  into  the  reality  of  the  Eter- 
nality  of  himself,  the  universe  and  the  Infinite,  seeing 
All  as  he  walks  upon  the  Highway  of  our  God. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

JESUS     CHRIST     THE     WAY-SHOWER.       THE 
DIVINE  MAN  IN  EXPRESSION. 

JESUS  CHRIST  is  our  Elder  Brother.  He  is  the 
SoTil  which  has  become  conscious  of  its  Sonship; 
become  conscious  that  He  and  the  Father  are  one. 

He  trod  the  path  of  Earth.  He  met,  solved  and  mas- 
tered all  problems  to  which  humanity  is  heir  in  the  car- 
nal law. 

He,  being  the  Conscious  Son  of  God  in  conscious  ex- 
pression, knew  whereof  He  spake  when  He  spoke  to 
the  Sea  and  a  calm  took  the  place  of  the  raging  storm. 

He  knew  whereof  He  spake  when  He  spoke  the  word 
and  the  dead  arose.  He  knew  whereof  He  spake  when 
He  cast  the  evil  spirits  out  from  those  who  were  deaf 
and  dumb. 

He  knew  whereof  He  spake  when  He  prayed  that 
prayer  by  which  the  loaves  and  fishes  became  manifest 
and  the  multitudes  were  fed.  He  knew  whereof  He 
acted  when  He  walked  upon  the  water. 

Jesus  Christ  was  the  Conscious  Son  of  God;  He  was 
the  Divine  man  in  expression  here  upon  earth,  that  man 
may  see  and  know  what  a  man  can  be  and  express, 
when  he  knows  God  as  He  is  and  knows  man  in  his 
Reality. 

Jesus  Christ  walked  the  earth  among  the  peoples  of 
the  earth  and  proved  Himself  a  master  over  every  ob- 
stacle which  He  encountered  for  Himself  and  for  those 
who  called  upon  Him  for  help. 

He  left  His  teachings  clear,  so  that  man  when  he  has 

477 


478  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

the  Christ  born  within  him  can  learn  the  way;  there- 
fore, He  is  called  the  Way-Shower. 

He  is  the  "Way-Shower  only  to  those  who  have  the 
Christ  born  within  them  and  are  sufficiently  awakened 
to  the  grand  verities  of  the  Truth,  to  perceive  that  man 
must  become  a  conscious  son  of  God  here  on  this  earth ; 
that  now  is  the  time  that  with  the  understanding  clear 
enough  they  may  know  that  they  now  are  individual 
manifestations  of  God,  Who  is  the  reality  of  their  be- 
ing; and  whose  work  is  to  bring  the  individuality  of 
His  Being  into  manifestation  in  man's  consciousness. 
When  the  Divine  man  (the  Real  of  every  man)  becomes 
evident,  personality  is  absorbed  by  individuality. 

What  is  the  difference  between  the  personality  of 
man  and  the  individuality? 

Personality  is  that  which  is  the  expression  of  the 
carnal  mind;  it  is  the  mortal  man  and  subject  to  the 
carnal  laws  which  act  in  and  through  humanity. 

As  long  as  man  believes  that  the  personality  is  him- 
self, he  does  not  know  and  understand  his  individuality, 
which  is  his  Real-Self  and  the  Divine-Man  which  God 
created. 

The  Divine  Man,  the  Real  Self  of  each  and  every  man, 
stands  today  as  it  has  stood  all  down  the  ages  since  that 
day  in  the  dawn  of  which  man  became  an  individu- 
alized manifestation  of  the  liiving  God.  The  Divine 
Man  of  each  man  has  never  been  born  and  never  will 
die.  Birth  and  Death  have  no  power  to  contaminate 
it ;  neither  disease  nor  pain  have  any  power  or  influence 
over  it. 

As  long  as  man  lives  in  the  personal  concept  only, 
he  is  in  the  law  of  carnality.  The  physical  form  is  con- 
ceived in  the  generation  period;  the  infant  is  born, 
grows  from  infancy  to  manhood  and  old  age. 

Man  as  long  as  he  lives  in  the  understanding  and  be- 
lief that  the  personality  is  himself   (being  under  the 


Jesus  Christ,  the  Way-Shower  479 

carnal  law,  by  and  through  his  beliefs)  passes  from 
birth  to  death  and  back  to  birth  in  one  continuous 
round;  it  is  as  a  tread-mill,  continually  acting,  but  not 
moving  forward. 

Jesus  Christ  came  with  a  message.  When  that  mes- 
sage is  understood  by  the  man,  awakened  sufficiently 
to  seek  until  the  Christ  is  born  within  him,  he  learns, 
if  he  follows  the  Way-Shower,  the  Master,  that  he,  too, 
can  step  aside  from  the  Wheel  of  Birth  and  Death. 

If  man  is  Divine  in  his  Real  Being  which  God  cre- 
ated, then  truly  sometime,  somewhere,  that  Divinity, 
that  ''Divine  Spark''  will  prevail  and  become  the  dom- 
inant man.  When  the  Divine  Man  becomes  the  domi- 
nant man,  he  then  lives  in  his  individuality;  the  per- 
sonal man,  which  was  subject  to  disease,  pain,  discord 
and  death,  having  disappeared,  being  merged  into  in- 
dividuality; and  individuality  is  the  Divine  Man,  per- 
fect in  form  and  statue,  with  the  Mind  of  God  working 
through  him  and  the  Breath  of  God  breathing  him. 

The  man  whom  God  created  is  Divine  and  perfect. 
Jesus  Christ  walked  among  men  in  the  Divine  Con- 
sciousness and  expression.  When  any  other  Soul  is 
thoroughly  awakened  and  has  the  Christ  born  within 
him,  he  may  see  and  behold  what  man  really  is  and  in 
what  degree  of  Divinity  he  can  attain,  expressing  it 
here  on  the  earth. 

Jesus  Christ  did  His  works  and  taught  His  message, 
that  man  may  see  the  possibility  for  all. 

If  man  desires  to  remain  in  the  carnal  slumber,  after 
he  is  aroused,  he  will  continue  as  other  men  who  are 
living  in  the  carnal  concept  and  are  ruled  by  the  car- 
nal law.  He  will  suffer  pain  and  permit  a  little  pain 
to  control  him  and  a  cold  wind  to  throw  him  into  sick- 
ness, which  may  force  him,  the  Divine,  the  Real  Self, 
to  withdraw  from  the  physical  body;  but  he  has  gained 
nothing,  because  he  passes  out  from  the  physical  per- 
sonality in  the  belief  in  carnality  and,  when  he  returns 


480  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

to  take  birth  again,  all  memory  is  lost  to  him  of  his  life 
which  he  lived  before;  therefore,  he  begins  life  here 
on  this  plane  again  just  as  he  did  in  his  previous  birth. 
In  that  period  of  man's  ongoing,  he  worships  many 
gods,  even  more  than  those  made  of  wood  and  stone. 

But  the  Infinite  chose  a  people,  when  the  time  had 
arrived  for  the  preparation  for  man's  final  emancipa- 
tion from  the  thraldom  of  the  carnal  illusion,  who  be- 
lieved in  one  God;  and  these  people  were  chosen  that, 
eventually,  when  the  period  arrived,  a  Messiah,  a 
Saviour,  could  be  bom. 

This  Saviour  must  be  born  to  a  people  who  believed 
in  one  God  only;  because,  in  the  completeness  of  His 
mission.  He  was  to  bring  man  into  his  unity  and  at- 
one-ment  with  the  one  God. 

For  man  to  know  the  Truth  concerning  his  Sonship, 
his  heirship,  he  must  know  the  one  God  who  is  his  Father. 
For  man  to  know  the  completeness  and  stand  redeemed 
at  home  in  his  Father's  House,  he  must  knpw  and  fully 
understand  that  there  is  but  one  God. 

When  man  knows  this  great  Truth,  as  Jesus  did,  he 
will  talk  face  to  face  with  the  Father-Mother;  and  the 
Father  will  lead,  guide,  sustain  and  bless  him. 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  chief  corner-stone;  yea,  the  head- 
stone, of  the  Great  Pyramid  which  Divinity  has  built 
in  the  midst  of  the  great  desert  of  human  illusions  and 
misunderstandings  of  the  one  Infinite  God. 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  Saviour,  the  Messiah,  the  Way- 
Shower;  and  He  said:  "Ye  shall  know  the  Truth  and 
the  Truth  shall  make  you  free."  He  also  said  to  His 
disciples, — ** Follow  thou  Me." 

If  it  had  been  impossible,  Jesus,  the  Divine  Man  in 
expression,  would  not  have  said  those  things  to  the 
men  who  were  awake  and  searching  for  the  Light; 
neither  would  He  have  given  His  message  as  He  did; 


Jesus  Christ,  the  Way-Shower  481 

but  it  is  not  only  possible,  it  is  inevitable,  that  each 
man  shall  sometime  stand  on  those  heights  to  which 
Jesus  points. 

Man,  in  his  ignorance  and  in  his  self-will,  may  in- 
terfere with  and  delay  his  onward  progress  toward  the 
consciousness  of  Life;  but  to  turn  the  Wheel  of  Divine 
Destiny  forever  aside,  man  cannot. 

Man's  destiny  is  to  be  a  conscious  son  of  God,  and 
his  destination  is  Paradise  or  the  Promised  Land, — the 
Father's  House. 

Man  in  his  intellectual  state  may  differ  and  argue 
about  the  location  of  Paradise;  but  the  man  who, 
through  the  Christ-consciousness  having  been  born  in 
him,  is  a  conscious  son  of  God,  heeds  not  anything  the 
intellect  of  man  may  say,  because  he,  from  the  Christ- 
consciousness  within  him,  knows  that  man's  intellect  is 
only  a  vapory  mist  until  it  is  illuminated  with  the  In- 
finite Intelligence. 

The  illumined  man  knows  that  the  Infinite  is  every- 
where present.  Then  Paradise  must  necessarily  be 
everywhere  present;  but  it  requires  that  the  Christ  be 
born  in  man  before  man  perceives  this. 

The  intellect  of  man  places  Paradise  in  a  distant  place 
and  puts  a  deep,  cold  river  flowing  between  earth  and 
that  balmy  clime. 

0,  our  brothers !  It  is  just  at  your  door ;  and  if  you 
will  lay  down  your  self-will  (carnal  mind)  and  do  as 
Jesus  said,  **Know  the  Truth,''  you  will  then  perceive 
this  vital  Truth. 

No  man  is  free  as  long  as  he  is  bound ;  and  the  Divine 
man  in  manifestation,  known  as  Jesus  Christ,  having 
scaled  the  heights  right  here  on  earth  and  among  the 
men  of  earth,  has  left  the  instructions  which  will  guide 
man  to  do  likewise  when  he  has  awakened  sufficiently 
to  see  that  Jesus'  message  was  direct  to  the  individual. 


482  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

For  what  was  His  message  given  to  the  individual? 
To  enable  each  man,  when  he  arrives  at  that  place  on 
the  Path,  that  he  may  arise  and  stand  master  over  all 
the  laws  of  carnality  which  hold  man  bound  to  the 
Wheel  of  Birth  and  Death  which  ever  rolls  in  the  gloom 
and  confusion  of  carnality. 

To  become  freed  from  the  carnal  law,  man  must  be- 
come conscious  of  Divinity,  become  conscious  that  God 
is  a  Loving  and  Tender  Father,  and  that  Jesus  Christ, 
our  Elder  Brother,  is  ever  loving,  tender,  kind  and 
ready  at  all  times  to  assist  whoever  calls  upon  Him. 

If  man  is  only  partially  awakened  and  he  calls  upon 
the  one  God,  our  Father,  and  Jesus  Christ,  our  Elder 
Brother,  for  help,  and  believing  that  death  is  the  end, 
desires  to  enter  that  place  known  to  the  Saints  as 
Heaven,  he  will  be  assisted  by  Jesus  Christ  unto  that 
haven  of  peace  and  will  remain  there  as  long  as  his 
merit  awards. 

Man,  however,  is  the  creator  of  the  merit,  and  it  is 
awarded  in  accordance  to  his  good  and  kind  acts, 
thoughts  and  deeds.  This  is  the  Law  of  Cause  and 
Effect, — *'As  man  sows,  so  he  reaps.'' 

Jesus  Christ  also  stands  ever  ready  to  assist  man  in 
the  final  emancipation  which  sets  man  Free,  forever, 
that  he  may  move  along  laughing  and  living  in  God's 
Law,  appreciating  God's  Love  and  Beauty. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

IN  THE  REALM  OF  THE  REAL. 

THE  Realm  of  the  Real  does  not  necessarily  have 
to  be  ''over  there";  however,  it  is  within  man's 
own  power  to  see  the  Realm  of  the  Real  ''over 
there"  or  here  and  now. 

It  is  not  a  question  so  much  as  to  the  location  of  that 
desirable  Realm  as  it  is  a  question  of  man's  concept 
of  it. 

Man  only  really  knows  the  Truth  in  any  one,  or  all, 
the  different  points  of  its  Reality,  when  he  is  consicous 
of  it. 

Man  must  make  the  realization  within  himself  con- 
cerning any  point  of  Truth  before  he  is  fully  conscious 
of  it.  When  man  is  conscious  of  a  point  in  Truth,  he 
knows  he  knows;  and  none  can  confuse  him  on  that 
point  again. 

Man  only  really  knows  the  Truth  in  so  far  as  he  is 
conscious  of  it;  then,  when  man  is  conscious  of  the 
Realm  of  the  Real,  he  will  also  be  conscious  that  he  is 
in  that  Realm,  and  that  that  Realm  is  within  him. 

Then  we  see,  when  we  understand  Truth  clearly,  that 
'the  Realm  of  the  Real  is  in  reality  all  there  is  and  that 
man  lives  in  that  Realm.  In  this  Realm  there  are  no 
clouds,  no  disease,  no  inharmony,  no  poverty,  no  war, 
no  death.  There  are  no  storms,  no  mildew  or  rust  in 
that  fair  land. 

How  can  there  be,  when  it  is  that  Divine  Realm  which 
is  the  Infinite  in  manifestation,  where  there  is  one  Eter- 
nal day  and  the  sunlight  of  God's  glory  lighteth  it  for- 

483 


484  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

ever;  when  it  is  the  land  where  the  flowers  forever 
bloom  and  the  birds  sing  continuously  and  the  ecstasy 
of  Life  is  heard  in  the  babbling  brook,  the  mountain 
breezes  and  soft  zephyrs? 

In  the  Realm  of  the  Real,  man  lives  a  conscious  Son 
of  God  and  walks  along  the  pathway  of  life  in  content- 
ment, wisdom,  strength,  ability  and  power.  The  in- 
habitants in  that  Realm  are  masters.  Weaklings  can 
never  gain  entrance  into  that  abode.  Those  who  live 
in  the  Realm  of  the  Real  are  warriors ;  they  have  fought 
the  battles  as  they  encountered  the  enemy  and  came 
through  victorious;  therefore,  they,  one  and  all,  who 
enter  into  this  Realm,  know  whereof  they  speak  and 
can  give  a  reason  for  the  joy  and  peace  within  them. 

This  Realm  of  the  Real  is  ever  present  to  the  Spirit- 
ually awakened  man,  and  he  lives  continually  in  that 
Realm,  even  though  he  is  living  amidst  the  men  who 
are  living  the  carnal  life  only,  who  do  not,  nor  can  they, 
understand  him;  but  he  understands  them.  "When  man 
is  conscious  of  that  Realm  of  the  Real,  he,  if  guided 
by  Divine  Wisdom,  is  poised,  sane  and  stable,  as  he 
walks  among  his  fellow  men  and  lives  his  life  here, 
where,  to  the  unawakened  one  there  are  storms,  sorrow, 
disease,  poverty  and  death;  in  the  midst  of  which  he  is 
in  consciousness  living  in  the  Realm  of  the  Real.  What 
is  the  Realm  of  the  Real?  God's  perfect  Universe,  peo* 
pled  with  God's  perfect  creation  or  manifestation,  which 
is  just  back  of  this  which  seems  real. 

Except  there  were  the  foundation  of  the  Absolute, 
the  inner,  the  outer,  or  surface  of  things,  would  soon 
cease  to  be. 

Man  can  stand  in  a  strong  current,  if  his  feet  are 
firmly  stayed  on  a  solid  rock;  but  should  his  feet  be  on 
the  shifting  sand,  he  soon  is  washed  about  with  the 
current,  because  there  is  no  stability  in  the  sand.  The 
man  with  wisdom  will  seek  until  he  finds  the  solid  rock, 
and  there  he  will  then  stand  and  build  his  character 
and  destiny, — Conscious  Realization. 


In  the  Realm  of  the  Real  485 

When  man,  through  insight  and  illumination,  lives 
in  the  Realm  of  the  Real,  he  is  practical,  calm  and 
serene.  He  does  not  rush  hither  and  thither,  but  abides 
quietly  where  he  may  be  and  contentedly  does  those 
things  which  his  hands  find  to  do.  Worldly  ambition, 
having  been  removed  from  him  ere  he  could  enter  into 
the  Realm  of  the  Real,  he  is  content  in  humble  and 
quiet  quarters  and  desires  not  to  parade  for  show  and 
is  equally  poised  in  the  midst  of  the  luxury  or  poverty, 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  highest  applause  of  man  is  not 
affected  by  flattery. 

When  the  ambitions,  desires,  and  egotism  of  the  earth- 
man  have  been  consumed  in  the  consuming  fire  of  God, 
man  finds  himself  clothed  upon  with  the  mind  of  God 
and  expressed  in  the  individual  man  through  the  Christ- 
consciousness. 

Man,  having  the  Christ-consciousness,  and  consciously 
living  in  the  Realm  of  the  Real,  is  living  in  the  third 
dispensation  here  and  now. 

Man  does  not  cross  that  barrier  called  time,  but  with 
understanding  brushes  it  aside;  then  consciously  stands 
in  Eternity  here  and  now. 

Death  has  nothing  to  do  with  man's  passing  from 
time  into  Eternity.  It  is  all  in  man's  own  concept,  and 
when  he,  through  understanding,  breaks  the  bonds  of 
Time  he  is  in  Eternity;  and  in  the  consciousness  of 
Eternity  he  lives  in  the  Realm  of  the  Real  here  and  now. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 
ANCHORAGE. 

THERE  are  many  kinds  of  anchorage  and  many- 
different  conditions  and  ideals  for  man  to  an- 
chor to. 

It  is  well  for  every  one  who  reads  these  pages  to  ex- 
amine themselves  until  they  discern  where  they  are 
anchored  and  to  whom,  and  to  what  they  are  anchored. 

Man  can  be  aboard  a  large  vessel  which  is  anchored 
and  resting  in  a  quiet  harbor;  but  a  storm  may  cause 
the  vessel  to  drag  anchor  and  go  adrift  and  man  not 
know  where  he  is.  He  may  anchor  his  faith  in  a  finan- 
cial undertaking  and  the  winds  of  adversity  come  and 
blow  it  into  bankruptcy ;  his  anchor  again  doing  him  no 
good.  Again,  he  may  anchor  his  hopes  and  affections 
upon  a  personality,  and  disease  may  soon  remove  the 
personality  from  his  sight,  and  his  anchorage  fails  him 
of  permanent  good. 

After  many  times  losing  by  not  casting  anchor  cor- 
rectly, man  will  eventually  begin  to  desire  to  know  how 
to  cast  anchor,  where  to  cast  anchor,  and  when. 

When  man  really  desires  to  know  a  thing,  there  is 
always  a  way  for  him  to  learn.  When  man  desires  to 
cast  anchor  deep  down  beneath  the  surface  of  things 
into  the  permanency  of  the  Real,  he  begins  to  seek  to 
know  God  and  to  know  himself  and  his  abiding  place. 

There  is  but  one  anchorage,  and  that  is  the  Absolute- 
ness of  That  Which  Is.  There  is  but  one  anchor;  it  is 
composed  of  Wisdom,  Love  and  Power.     There  is  but 

486 


Anchorage  487 

one  place  to  cast  the  anchor ;  it  is  in  God.    There  is  but 
one  time  to  cast  the  anchor,  and  that  is  now. 

Then,  dear  reader,  let  your  anchorage  be  in  Eternity, 
and  rest  thou  on  the  Bosom  of  God  as  on  a  great  and 
quiet  ocean  whose  waters  are  in  the  hollow  of  His  hand. 
The  Infinite  then  embraces  you  lifting  the  light  of  His 
countenance  as  a  sun  upon  you. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

EARNEST  AND  STEADFAST. 

THE  Disciple  traveling  upon  the  Sacred  Path 
should  be  earnest  and  steadfast. 
Nothing  is  gained  that  is  worth  while  except 
man  is  in  earnest  concerning  it.  It  requires  steadfast- 
ness, that  man  swerve  not,  neither  to  the  right  nor  to 
the  left,  but  keep  ever  direct  in  the  center  of  the  Path. 

That  man  may  ever  remain  in  earnest,  he  requires 
faith,  first  in  God,  then  in  himself,  then  in  his  prayers. 
He  requires,  also.  Love  for  God  and  his  fellow  man. 

Man,  to  be  earnest  and  steadfast,  must  necessarily 
have  something  to  be  earnest  and  steadfast  about. 

The  Great  Teacher  enunciated  the  great  Truth,  which, 
when  understood  and  lived  in  earnestness  and  stead- 
fastness, will  enable  man  to  know  how  to  travel  upon 
the  Sacred  Path.  Jesus  came  to  earth  that  He  might 
quicken,  awaken  and  teach  His  brothers  who  are  living 
here  in  the  human  family,  having  lost  all  consciousness 
of  the  truth  of  their  being.  These  people  Jesus  healed, 
quickened  and  blessed,  in  proportion  to  their  recep- 
tivity to  His  message  of  healing  and  quickening. 

As  man  passes  along  the  Sacred  Path  (which  all  stu- 
dent-devotees travel  after  they  awaken)  he  desires  to 
know  the  Truth  whereof  Jesus  spake.  He  then  soon 
learns  that  entering  upon  this  Path  leads  man  away 
from  the  sense  concept  into  the  Soul  Life  and  Realiza- 
tion. 

It  is  not  a  short  path,  even  though  the  destination  is 
at  the  starting  point.     Man,  not  knowing  this,  travels 

488 


Earnest  and  Steadfast  489 

many  long,  and  perchance,  weary  miles  ere  he  becomes 
fully  conscious  that  he  ''Knows  the  Truth,"  and  can 
realize  in  its  fullness  the  promise  which  the  illumined 
Christ  coupled  with  the  promise,  that  *'Ye  shall  know 
the  Truth  and  the  Truth  shall  make  you  free." 

The  promise  of  freedom  is  given  to  the  man  who 
** Knows  the  Truth,"  not  to  the  one  who  believes,  nor 
to  the  one  who  reads  about  it.  Then  that  one  thing, 
''Know  the  Truth,"  is  that  which  man  should  be  in 
earnest  about. 

Let  no  one  think  this  earnestness  is  necessary  to  ap- 
pease the  wrath  of  an  angry  God ;  because  no  such  Being 
exists ;  neither  to  escape  that  place  called  eternal  torment 
by  those  who  are  still  teaching  the  old  doctrine  of  the 
second  dispensation;  because  that  place  does  not  exist 
in  the  Realm  of  Infinity. 

At  every  point  of  the  Infinite  —  and  that  point  is 
everywhere — God  is  Love;  and  everywhere  He  hears 
man's  call,  and  answers  even  before  man  calls;  He 
"Notes  the  sparrow's  fall,"  and  forgets  not  a  heart 
beat  of  any  human  child.  The  Mosaic  teachings  of  the 
first  dispensation,  "An  eye  for  an  eye,  a  tooth  for  a 
tooth,"  and  "who  sheds  blood,  by  man  shall  his  blood 
be  shed,"  were  carried  into  the  second  dispensation. 
Yet,  Jesus  Christ  came  with  the  banner  of  Love;  and 
He  was  so  in  earnest  about  His  mission  which  the 
Father  had  sent  Him  upon  that  He  was  ever  steadfast, 
and  His  life  was  spent  in  kind  deeds  and  teaching  His 
brothers,  who  were  not  conscious  of  their  birthright. 

The  law  was  given  by  Moses  to  the  people  in  the 
first  dispensation;  but  Grace  and  Truth  came  in  Jesus 
Christ's  message  to  the  people  in  the  second  dispensa- 
tion. Now,  as  we  are  entering  into  the  third  dispensa- 
tion, the  clergy  and  priests  who  are  not  awakened  to 
this  great  event  are  still  endeavoring  to  teach  the  eternal 
punishment  doctrine  which  has  been  held  over  the  Chris- 
tian path  for  near  two  thousand  years. 


490  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

But  the  Christ-awakened  man,  who  has  the  new  or 
Spiritual  Birth  and  hears  the  ''Still  Small  Voice '*  of 
the  Father  speaking  within  him  and  invokes  the  pres- 
ence of  Jesus  Christ  to  assist  and  encourage  him  and 
be  his  companion  upon  the  Sacred  Path,  laughs  into 
nothing  the  theory  of  eternal  punishment.  He  asks  the 
question,  where  could  that  place  be,  when  God  fills  all 
space?  and  Jesus  taught,  ''God  is  Love/' 

Be  earnest  and  steadfast,  our  brothers  when  you  have 
arrived  at  the  entrance  into  the  third  dispensation,  and 
search  until  you  know  the  Truth.  Note  this :  Jesus  did 
not  say,  "you  must  know  the  doctrines  of  men  and  the 
church  rules."     He  said:    "Know  the  Truth.'* 

It  is  not  a  question  of  man  bowing  to  man.  It  is 
"Knowing  the  Truth."  Jesus  said:  "I  am  the  way, 
the  Truth  and  the  Light."  Jesus  knew  the  Truth,  and 
when  He  announced,  "I  am  the  way,  the  Truth  and  the 
Light,"  He  carried  them  into  the  Absolute.  What  is 
the  Absolute  ?  The  Infinite  in  His  impersonal  and  man- 
ifested states. 

When  man  knows  the  impersonal  God — and  His  ex- 
pressed forms  is  all  there  in  reality  is — he,  knowing  the 
Truth,  steadfastly  abides  in  conscious  understanding  in 
the  center  of  the  absoluteness  of  that  which  is  and  in 
the  consciousness  that  he  is  an  individual,  abiding  in 
the  unchangeableness  of  Eternity. 

When  man  really  knows  the  Truth  he  is  earnest  and 
sincere.  Frivolity,  ingratitude  and  indecision  have  no 
place  within  him,  because  he,  through  understanding 
the  Truth,  knows  that  he  is  an  individual  expression  of 
God. 

Here  it  is  that  man,  in  earnestness  and  sincerity,  ob- 
serves all  the  handiwork  of  God  as  he  passes  along  the 
Sacred  Path.  He,  with  the  eye  of  vision,  sees  there  is 
nothing  trivial  in  all  of  God's  universe  and  that  the 


Earnest  and  Steadfast  491 

grains  of  sand  and  the  blades  of  grass  are  as  important 
to  the  Infinite  as  suns,  stars  and  earths. 

If  man  is  earnest  and  steadfast,  he  will  endeavor  at 
all  times  and  in  all  places  to  be  en  rapport  with  the  In- 
finite, knowing  that  he  is  standing  in  the  center  of  the 
Infinite  and  that  the  Infinite  surrounds  him  completely 
and  abides  within  him.  There  are  no  walls  or  partitions 
in  the  Infinite — just  one  ocean  of  Life  and  Being, — 
that  is  all. 

Catch  that  message  and  you  are  free  and  you  will  be 
so  absorbed  by  the  beauty,  the  greatness,  the  grandeur 
and  the  sublimity  of  it  that  you  will  merge  into  an 
earnest  and  steadfast  being  in  the  midst  of  earnestness 
and  steadfastness. 

In  that  beautiful  clime  of  unchangeableness,  the  illu- 
mined individual  stands  conscious  of  his  immortality 
and  an  immortal  universe  where  time  has  ceased  to 
be,  it  being  unable  to  cross  over  the  threshold  into 
Eternity.  When  man  knows  the  Truth,  time  has  been 
consumed  from  his  mind  and  it  is  filled  with  the  con- 
sciousness of  Eternity. 

Man,  to  live  in  this  cycle,  which  is  now  being  ushered 
in,  will  be  compelled  to  *'Know  the  Truth,'*  to  be  en- 
abled to  remain  on  earth  any  great  length  of  time.  This 
is  the  age  when  men,  through  the  changes  they  see  take 
place  about  them  and  within  their  fellow  man,  will  see 
that  it  is  imperative  that  he,  too,  halts  not  "Between 
two  opinions,'*  but  stands  in  the  center  of  the  Sacred 
Path  in  earnestness  and  steadfastness;  and  when  man 
thus  stands  he  will  hear  the  Infinite  whispering,  **Be 
still,  and  know  that  I  am  God." 

We  would  that  all  men  would  be  in  earnest  about 
this,  as  it  is  inevitable  that  all  men  will  sometime  stand 
Redeemed;  and,  if  the  man  who  is  awake  to  this,  who 


492  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

is  walking  the  Christ  Path,  will  understandingly,  trust- 
ingly and  lovingly  remain  steadfast,  he  will  perceive 
that  God's  promises  are  sure  and  steadfast. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

ABIDE  THOU  IN  ABIDING  TRUST  IN  GOD. 

THE  Infinite  has  as  many  different  names  as  the 
different  languages  of  men  can  express.  The 
different  names  have  no  power  to  change  the 
Infinite,  as  it  is  that  Absolute  which  remains  forever 
unchangeable. 

Man  may  approach  the  Infinite  Presence  from  any 
angle;  and  man  is  blessed  according  to  the  angle  by 
which  he  approaches  the  Father. 

If  man  decides  in  his  own  mind  that  God,  the  In- 
finite, is  Principle,  just  a  cold  unthinking  and  unloving 
principle  like  as  the  principle  of  mathematics,  man  re- 
mains cold  and  intolerant  to  his  fellow  man  in  propor- 
tion and  degree  of  his  concept  of  God  as  unloving  prin- 
ciple; but  when  he  gets  a  clear  and  better  angle  he 
perceives  that  the  great  principle  which  he  has  found 
to  work  with  such  precision  is  only  to  assist  man  to  re- 
turn to  God,  using  this  as  a  working  hypothesis  by  which 
to  bring  himself  where  the  Loving  Father  resides  in 
all  His  unchangeableness,  just  as  near  as  man  can  per- 
ceive. 

The  man  who  is  awakened  sufficiently  to  learn  of  a 
principle  which  some  call  God  and  who  will  familiarize 
himself  with  the  working  hypothesis  thereof  can  prove 
conclusively  that  there  is  a  God,  and  this  principle,  if 
used  unselfishly  and  understandingly,  will  carry  man 
into  the  realization  of  the  Infinite  Presence. 

When  man  is  convinced  that  there  is  the  Infinite 
whose   Holy   Presence   is   everywhere   present,   he   has 

493 


494  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

solved  what  is  a  great  mystery  to  the  one  who  abides 
in  ignorance. 

When  man  has,  through  understanding,  reached  the 
realization  that  the  Infinite  is  everywhere  present  and 
knows  the  impossibility  of  his  being  outside  of  or 
away  from  the  Infinite  Presence,  he  then  can  rest  in 
abiding  trust  in  God. 

He  joyously  passes  along  in  Eternity  and  sees  Life 
Eternal  surrounding  him  always.  Man  then  can  in 
peace  and  contentment  abide  in  trust  and  appreciation 
in  God. 

Trust  thou  in  this  Holy  Presence, 
And  thou  will  feel  its  strong  embrace; 

Knowing  that  when  thou  art  lonely, 
God  will  meet  thee,  face  to  face. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

THE    VILLAGE    PATH— AN   ALLEGORY. 

THE  village  lay  in  the  distance,  nestled  snugly  in 
the  foothills,  with  the  great  mountain  range  be- 
hind it,  the  topmost  peaks  of  which  were  covered 
perpetually  with  the  pure  white  snow.  In  front,  the 
valley  stretches  far  in  the  distance,  with  its  fertile  acres 
covered  with  meadow,  grain,  orchards  and  homes. 

In  the  village  the  blue-grass  grows  along  the  paths 
which  wind  along  the  narrow  roads.  The  roads,  being 
simply  country  lanes,  have  not  the  dignity  of  being 
called  streets,  although  they  are  the  main  thorough- 
fares. 

The  trees  are  large  and  beautiful;  the  oak,  elm  and 
maple  are  there,  and  the  roofs  of  the  lovely  old  houses 
are  covered  with  moss,  for  more  than  one  generation 
has  been  born  and  has  grown  into  manhood  and  woman- 
hood in  these  quaint  old  houses,  with  their  latticed 
porches,  covered  with  the  sweet  smelling  jasmine  and 
honeysuckle. 

In  the  long  summer  days,  the  cattle  and  sheep  calmly 
graze  the  grass  which  so  luxuriantly  grows  along  the 
village  roads. 

There  are  many  paths  which  wind  their  crooked,  yet 
charming  way,  through  the  quiet,  quaint  and  beautiful 
village.  Some  extend  beyond  the  village  limits  and 
wind  their  way  through  meadows,  orchards  and  fields 
of  grain ;  others  follow  the  babbling  brook,  with  its  cool 
water  rolling  along,  being  fed  by  the  melting  snow  on 
the  mountain  tops,  with  the  trees  growing  thickly  along 

495 


496  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

its  banks  and  the  shrubbery,  like  as  unto  an  eastern 
jungle,  covered  with  the  wild  grape  vine,  whose  little 
purple  grapes  are  luscious  in  the  harvest  time  when 
the  squirrels  and  birds  feast  upon  them.  The  rocks 
along  the  brook  are  covered  with  moss,  and,  in  the  deep 
pools  just  behind  the  large  boulders,  the  speckled  moun- 
tain trout  play,  sleep  and  quietly,  without  a  sound,  live 
their  lives  there  in  the  little  pools. 

A  man,  who  has  reached  this  village  quite  unexpect- 
edly, finding  it  so  quaint  and  peaceful,  seeing  that 
there's  neither  rush,  anxiety  nor  care  expressed  in  the 
people  who  dwell  there,  decides  to  tarry  and  see  if  he 
can  ascertain  the  cause  of  this  peace  and  restfulness 
here  expressed.  Even  the  cattle  and  sheep,  which  graze 
the  blue  grass  and  clover  that  grows  along  the  road- 
side and  by  the  sides  of  the  winding  paths,  express  no 
fear  at  the  approach  of  a  stranger,  but  calmly  live  their 
own  lives  and  seem  to  have  confidence  in  all  who  pass  by. 

This  man,  a  student  and  traveler,  observing  this  con- 
dition when  he  enters  this  quaint  village,  remains  to 
learn  the  cause  of  it  and  to  study  the  cause  until,  per- 
haps, he  may  imbibe  this  same  peace  and  contentment 
and  be  enabled  to  teach  it  as  an  object  lesson  to  the 
people  at  large. 

This  student,  this  searcher  after  something  which  is 
undiscernible  to  the  world-mind  (which  is  content  with 
things  as  it  sees  them,  and  supposing  they  are  as  they 
seem)  has  not  found  this  strange  something  in  the  great 
cities,  though  he  has  visited  the  great  cities  of  the  world ; 
therefore,  when  he  seemingly  accidently  stumbles  upon 
this  village  nestled  among  the  foothills  he  stops.  First 
he  is  impressed  with  the  beauty  of  its  surroundings; 
then  with  its  quaintness.  These  are  expressed  in  the 
outer,  but  there  was  something  there  which  held  him 
spellbound.  He  could  not  pass  on  and  leave  it  all  be- 
hind. And,  as  he  tarried  day  after  day,  he  began  to 
study  in  the  quietness  the  cause  of  this  peace  and  con- 


The  Web  of  Truth  497 

tentment.  He  carries  his  book  with  him ;  it  is  the  book 
of  ages,  and  the  wisdom  of  the  universe  is  therein  con- 
tained. 

Day  after  day  he  leaves  the  village  and  wanders  along 
the  paths  which  lead  from  the  village,  each  day  a  dif- 
ferent path,  and  every  night  he  returns  to  his  quiet 
room  in  the  village  hotel  to  sit  and  ponder  deeply  over 
the  lessons  he  has  learned  upon  the  path  he  has  trav- 
eled that  day.  One  morning,  when  he  started  out  for 
his  day*s  wanderings,  he  discovered  the  winding  path 
which  lies  along  the  bank  of  the  babbling  brook  and  at 
once  this  traveler  and  student,  this  searcher  after  wis- 
dom, decides  to  travel  upon  this  path  and  investigate 
its  beauties  and  wonders.  As  he  travels  along  hour 
after  hour,  he  follows  the  path  which  is  leading  him 
toward  the  mountain  top ;  but  he  knows  not  at  first  that 
this  is  so,  because  he  is  deeply  interested  in  each  step 
he  takes,  in  that  which  he  sees  around  him.  He  enjoys 
the  song  of  the  birds,  his  eye  feasts  upon  the  beauty  of 
the  wild  flowers  and  the  moss  which  covers  the  rocks 
where  the  speckled  trout  play  in  the  deep,  cool  water 
near  by.  He  revels  in  the  vastness  of  nature's  great- 
ness, as  he  looks  down  on  the  quaint  village  with  its 
peaceful  inhabitants  and  the  trees  moving  softly  in  the 
breeze  and  the  valley  stretching  far  in  its  fields  of 
ripening  grain.  Then  he  turns  to  look  forward  and 
he  discovers  that  the  path  leads  through  the  foot-hills 
to  the  base  of  the  mountain,  where  he  now  finds  him- 
self. He  sees  that  his  path  leads  on  toward  the  moun- 
tain-top. He  looks  at  the  range  of  mountains  as  they 
tower  majestically  above  him  and  feels  the  stillness  and 
serenity  of  this  vastness  and  greatness.  He  sits  down 
on  a  beautiful  boulder  under  a  magnificent  tree  where 
it  casts  a  cool  shade.  The  breezes  refresh  him  and  the 
birds  sing  their  summer  song. 

Here  in  this  restful  place,  after  the  eye  has  traveled 
far  over  the  valley  and  village  and  along  the  mountain 
sides,  even  to  the  snow-capped  tops,  and  he  has  drunk 


498  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

of  the  exquisiteness  of  nature's  charms  until  he  is  in- 
toxicated therewith,  this  traveler,  this  student,  this  phil- 
osopher, discerns  that  this  outward  beauty  and  restful- 
ness  does  not  satisfy.  Then  he  exclaims,  **  Where  shall 
I  turnT'  Then  his  eye  falls  upon  his  book,  which  lies 
at  his  side.  He  opens  it  and  reads:  **The  heavens  de- 
clare the  glory  of  God;  and  the  firmament  showeth  His 
handiwork. ' ' 

**Day  unto  day  uttereth  speech,  and  night  unto  night 
showeth  knowledge.*' 

'  *  There  is  no  speech  nor  language,  where  their  voice  is 
not  heard. 

*  *  Their  line  is  gone  out  throughout  all  the  earth,  and 
their  words  to  the  end  of  the  world.  In  them  hath  he  set 
a  tabernacle  for  the  sun.*'    Psalms  19:1-4. 

'*I  will  love  thee,  0  Lord,  my  strength."    Psalm  18:1. 

*  *  The  Lord  is  my  rock,  and  my  fortress,  and  my  deliv- 
erer; my  God,  my  strength,  in  whom  will  I  trust;  my 
buckler,  and  the  horn  of  my  salvation,  and  my  high 
tower."    Psalm  18:2. 

'*I  will  call  upon  the  Lord,  who  is  worthy  to  be 
praised ;  so  shall  I  be  saved  from  mine  enemies. ' '  Psalm 
18:3. 

**Give  ear  to  my  words,  0  Lord,  consider  my  medita- 
tions."   Psalm  5:1. 

**Harken  unto  the  voice  of  my  cry,  my  King,  and  my 
God;  for  unto  thee  will  I  pray."    Psalm  5:2. 

This  caused  him  to  look  deeper  than  just  the  surface 
of  things,  and,  as  he  discovered  that  he  was  coming  in 
touch  with  '  *  God, ' '  who  is  back  of  nature,  he  exclaimed, 
— **I  will  now  endeavor  to  look  through  nature  to  ** Na- 
ture's God ! "  As  he  sat  there  in  contemplation,  he  spake 
aloud,  and  this  is  what  he  said : 

**What  a  wonderous  God  there  must  be!  who  can 
spread  a  mantle  of  beauty  and  grandeur  over  land  and 


The  Web  of  Truth  499 

He  reads  along  in  his  book,  and  learns  that  he  is  study- 
ing the  Book  of  Ages,  which  he  holds  in  his  hand,  and, 
the  great  book  whose  pages  extend  unto  the  outer  edge  of 
the  endlessness  of  space. 

He  closes  his  book  and  moves  along  on  this  path  which 
he  has  chosen ;  for  he  has  now  decided  to  travel  this  one 
path.  Even  though  he  knows  there  must  be  steep  places 
upon  it  and  deep  ravines  to  cross,  he  walks  calmly  and 
serenely  along,  for  he  has  learned  from  these  two  books 
he  is  studying,  that  there  is  no  cause  for  haste,  neither 
anything  gained;  and  in  this  calmness  and  serenity  he 
passes  along  the  path  which  leads  through  the  beautiful 
canyon,  which  gradually  brings  him  higher  and  higher, 
until  he  has  left  the  canyon  with  its  ferns,  trees  and 
flowers  and  babbling  streams,  until  he  has  left  the  trees 
and  shrubbery  far  behind  him,  and  he  finds  himself  sur- 
rounded with  barrenness.  The  stillness  of  this  desolation 
is  almost  unbearable ;  but  he  can  look  down  the  path  over 
which  he  has  trod  and  see  the  green  trees  and,  amidst  the 
foot-hills  he  can  discern  the  village  and  the  valley  with 
its  yellow  fields  of  grain,  its  meadows  and  green  trees; 
but  to  look  back  does  not  satisfy.  He  decides  that  he 
gains  nothing  by  looking  down  over  the  path ;  therefore, 
he  turns  his  face  toward  the  topmost  peak ;  and,  after  he 
has  read  again  from  his  books,  he  faces  about  and  ex- 
claims, '  *  Forward  march !  * '  He  again  takes  up  his  travel 
upon  his  chosen  path,  with  his  companions, — his  two 
books,  which  point  him  to  the  invisible  God.  This  invisi- 
ble God  is  the  desire  of  his  heart,  his  destination.  Many 
are  the  days  he  travels  through  this  lone,  barren,  treeless 
waste  on  the  mountainside,  with  no  human  being  to  cheer 
him,  or  ever  the  song  of  a  bird ;  but,  lo,  and  behold !  it  is 
here — right  here !  surrounded  with  this  vastness  of  deso- 
lation, that  he  really  learns  to  fervently  seek  to  know 
his  God. 

Through  those  long  dark  nights  and  lonely  days,  he 
learned  to  meet  and  know  his  God  and  stand  face  to  face 


500  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

with  his  Redeemer.  When  he  has  learned  this,  he  has 
reached  the  green  trees  and  f  ertil  fields,  with  their  flowers 
and  birds ;  and  perpetual  sunshine  overshadows  his  path 
and  he  drinks  of  the  cool  water  which  flows  from  the  top 
of  the  mountain  peak,  where  they  are  forever  caressed 
with  the  soft  mountain  breezes  and  the  mantle  of  sunshine 
enfolds  them;  he  sees  their  greatness  and  beauty; 
drinks  gladly  and  reverently  of  their  water,  which  is  the 
mountain  stream  there  and  the  babbling  brook  in  the  vil- 
lage. 

He  still  has  the  two  books  before  him, — the  Book  of 
Ages,  the  Bible,  and  Nature,  ''The  outer  garment  of 
God.'^ 

Man  here  on  the  mountain-top  serenely  abides  at  Home, 
and  drinks  of  the  cool  and  refreshing  water,  which  is  the 
Life  Eternal  and  eats  of  the  bread  of  inspiration  and  is 
conscious  of  the  exquisiteness  of  God's  Beauty  and 
Purity. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

THE  WEB  OF  TRUTH,  HAVING  BEEN  WROUGHT 

OUT,  MAN  STANDS  REDEEMED,  AT  HOME 

IN  GOD,— FOREVER  AND  FOREVER 

AT  the  gray  dawn  in  that  morning  when  God  caused 
man  to  become  an  individualized  manifestation  of 
the  Infinite ;  man,  the  individual,  at  the  bidding  of 
the  Infinite  stepped  from  the  womb  of  the  Infinite  into 
the  Heart  of  the  Infinite  and  there  has  ever  remained. 

The  Father  ever  knoweth  this,  but  man  has  lost  all 
memory  of  it  so  completely,  that  there  is  no  consciousness 
of  his  divine  Life  within  him  while  he  lives  a  carnal  man 
amidst  carnality. 

The  question  is,  how  did  this  change  take  place? 
When  did  it  take  place  and  where? 

The  place  where  this  change  took  place  we  will  portray 
in  its  inner,  esoteric  meaning  and  in  its  outer  aspect.  As 
there  cannot  be  an  inner  without  an  outer,  neither  can 
there  be  an  outer  without  the  inner. 

Man  Was  in  Paradise,  that  perfect  abode  described  as 
the  Heart  of  God,  and  was  so  clear  in  his  concept  of  the 
Truth  of  Being,  that  he  dwelt  in  peace  and  revelled  in 
the  ecstasy  of  bliss. 

Age  after  age  rolls  along,  but  man  in  that  Paradisical 
state  of  concept  knows  not  the  fleetness  of  Time ;  because 
he  knows  naught  but  God  and  His  perfect  universe  in 
which  man  abides.  With  no  better  word  to  describe  to 
the  carnal  mind  that  blissful,  incomprehensible  state,  we 
call  it  Paradise. 

There  is  but  One  Mind  in  operation  in  and  through  all 

501 


502  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

the  expressions  of  the  Infinite  in  that  perfect  abode,  and 
that  is  the  Mind  of  God. 

There  is  but  One  Substance  throughout  that  realm, — 
the  Spirit  substance,  which  is  God. 

We  read  in  Genesis,  the  first  chapter,  **God  created 
man  in  His  image  and  likeness."  We  have  already  seen 
that  God  desired  a  change  and  the  manifestations  of  God 
became  evident.  Man,  the  image  and  likeness  of  God, 
reflecting  God^s  power,  has  latent  within  him  the  ability 
to  desire  a  change. 

When  God  desired  a  change,  the  Infinite  creation  or 
manifestation  came  into  expression  from  the  unmanifest 
or  reposeful  Presence,  which  is  the  Infinite  Presence. 

When  man,  an  individual  manifestation  of  the  Infinite, 
chose  a  change  his  manifestations  were  limited  and  finite 
and  took  place  within  man's  mind,  just  as  the  Infinite 
manifestations  became  evident  within  the  Infinite  mind 
and  were  infinite  in  number. 

The  desire  for  change  caused  man  to  become  clouded 
concerning  his  divine  self  and  his  nearness  to  the  Father ; 
and,  as  his  mind  became  more  filled  with  confusion,  he 
looked  out  from  the  center  of  his  being,  which  is  his 
divine  self  forever  at  one  with  God,  and  moved  out  into 
the  mist  which  sprang  up  from  the  morass  of  his  mind 
divorced  from  God 's  Mind.  The  next  account  we  have  in 
Genesis  is  where  they,  the  positive  and  negative  of  man's 
being,  partook  of  the  fruit  from  the  Tree  of  Knowledge 
which  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  Garden.  They  passed  out 
further  into  the  mists  and,  having  lost  their  realization  of 
their  at-one-ment  with  the  Father,  they  could  not  depend 
upon  the  Spiritual  Laws  and  Spiritual  food.  Therefore, 
man  must  set  about  to  support  this  outer  body  which  has 
formed  about  him  since  his  mind  became  confused  by  the 
mists  which  began  to  enter  into  it  when  he  desired  a 
change. 


The  Web  of  Truth  503 

God,  the  Infinite,  remains  the  same.  Paradise  remains 
the  same;  but  man  has  become  confused;  therefore,  he 
passes  out  into  the  Forest  of  Illusions. 

Carnality  is  the  abode  of  man  after  his  mind  is  con- 
fused by  the  mist  which  composed  the  carnal  mind  until 
man  awakens. 

Here  is  where  Jesus  Christ  gave  the  parable  of  the 
Prodigal  Son. 

All  men  are  Sons  of  God  and  all  men  when  they  pass 
out  from  Paradise  become  the  prodigal  son  and  all  men, 
like  the  prodigal  in  Jesus'  parable,  will  awaken;  and, 
when  they  awaken,  their  reason  will  be  restored  to  them. 

Then  comes  the  struggle,  which  all  Souls  have,  with  the 
two  states  of  mind. 

The  Infinite,  ''The  All,-and-in-All, "  is  everywhere 
present  and  always  and  forever  remains  unchangeable 
and  perfect  in  its  unmanifest  and  manifested  expressions. 

This  is  that  Absoluteness  in  which  the  illumined  man 
stands. 

Who  is  the  illumined  man  ?  The  redeemed  son  of  God. 
He  who  has  stepped  from  the  Mount  of  Transfigura- 
tion into  the  Paradisaical  state  of  understanding  and  is 
conscious  that  he  is  a  son  of  the  Living  God.  Knowing 
that  he  has  passed  out  into  the  mists  of  earth  which 
formed  in  man's  mind  and  compose  the  fabric  called 
carnal  mind,  and  that  he  has  followed  the  will-o'-the- 
wisp  through  the  Forest  of  Illusion  until  his  Soul  began 
to  cause  an  urge  to  take  place  within  him,  he  knows  that 
this  is  where  he  is  represented  by  Jesus  in  the  parable 
as  the  Prodigal,  as  he,  discovering  himself  wretched  and 
feeding  upon  husks  with  the  swine,  arose  and  returned 
to  his  Father ;  and  his  Father  gave  him  a  royal  welcome. 

The  man  who  has  consciously  and  understandingly 
solved  all  problems  which  he  encounters  after  he  arises 
and  determines  to  return  to  his  Father,  will,  when  he  is 
at  Home  in  his  Father's  House,  remain  there  wearing 
the  robe  which  the  Father  gave  him,  which  is  his  re- 


504  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

deemed  body.  He  then  * '  Knows  the  Truth ' '  and,  through 
that  understanding  and  the  help  of  the  Father  and  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Elder  Brother,  he  has  mastered  death,  the 
greatest  enemy  to  mankind, — the  greatest  because  it  is  so 
mysterious. 

God  being  Life  and  filling  all  space,  is  there  any  place 
for  death  ? 

There  is  no  place  for  death  except  in  the  carnal  minds 
of  men  living  in  the  carnal  belief,  which  is  the  Great 
Delusion. 

Man,  to  arise  and  pass  out  from  the  illusion  of  car- 
nality, necessarily  must  ''Know  the  Truth,"  and,  when 
he  begins  to  learn  the  Truth  which  the  Father  caused  to 
be  given  to  the  men  of  earth  through  the  lips  of  Jesus 
Christ,  who  proved  the  divineness  of  their  origin  by  the 
signs  following,  he  will  soon  see  most  clearly  that  God 
has  naught  with  death  or  birth,  because  God  has  done  His 
work, — and  wonderous  it  truly  is !  *  'And  He  rested  from 
His  work." 

When  man  arrives  at  his  finishing  cycle,  he  will  hear 
the  fullness  of  the  message  of  Jesus  Christ.  None  can 
catch  that  deep  delicate  note  therein,  only  those  who  have 
arrived  at  the  time  when  they  are  to  arise  and  step  aside 
from  the  carnal  life  forever.  Man  then  returns  no  more 
to  earth,  except  at  his  request,  that  he  may  be  a  saviour 
to  assist  mankind,  to  help  those  still  living  in  the  carnal 
illusion,  to  find  the  Light,  that  they  may  learn  to  lay  their 
burdens  down  at  the  Master's  feet. 

Truth  is  the  Infinite  Web  from  which  none  can  escape. 
Each  and  every  individual  manifestation  of  God,  which 
is  "God's  image  and  likeness"  and  "God's  crowning 
glory,"  will  abide  in  that  paradisiacal  state  for  times 
innumerable;  because  in  Eternity  the  ages,  periods  and 
events  of  passing  time  is  unknown  and  cannot  be  reck- 
oned. It  is  the  carnal  man  living  in  carnality  who  takes 
note  of  and  reckons  time. 


The  Web  of  Truth  505 

But  the  mind  of  man,  when  he  has  the  illumination  full 
and  complete  which  places  him  in  the  consciousness  of 
divinity,  in  its  personal  and  impersonal  aspect,  has  no 
more  concept  of  time,  because  he  is  conscious  of  Eternity. 

Man  cannot  be  in  two  states  of  consciousness  at  the 
same  time.  He  reckons  time  as  long  as  he  believes  that 
birth  and  death  are  a  part  of  God's  plan ;  and,  as  long  as 
man  believes  that  death  is  inevitable,  there  is  not  in  his 
mind  the  conception  of  the  Eternality  of  Life. 

Jesus  Christ  said :  "Ye  cannot  serve  two  masters,  for 
ye  will  love  the  one  and  hate  the  other;"  **Ye  cannot 
serve  God  and  mammon. ' ' 

God  has  created  His  creation,  pronounced  it  perfect ; — 
yea,  God  has  pronounced  it  good,  and  very  good.  We 
read  in  Holy  Writ:  **And  on  the  seventh  day  God  ended 
His  work  which  he  had  made,  and  he  rested  on  the  sev- 
enth day  from  all  His  work  which  he  had  made. ' '  Genesis 
2:2. 

**And  God  blessed  the  seventh  day  and  sanctified  it, 
because  that  in  it  He  had  rested  from  all  His  work  which 
God  created  and  made. '  ^    Genesis  2 :3. 

In  Genesis,  in  the  allegory  of  God's  work,  we  learn  that 
when  God  caused  His  works  to  become  manifest,  which 
manifestation  is  there  called  creation,  there  were  six 
stages,  or  degrees  of  ongoing,  which  we  designate  as 
periods ;  but  when  the  seventh  day  or  period  arrived  we 
read:  *'And  on  the  seventh  day  God  ended  His  work 
which  he  hath  made ;  and  He  rested  on  the  seventh  day 
from  all  His  work  which  He  had  made."    Genesis  2:2. 

Evidently,  according  to  the  reading  of  this  verse,  God 
finished  His  works  in  the  morning  of  the  seventh  day 
from  all  the  work  He  hath  made. 

Man,  * '  The  image  and  likeness  of  God, ' '  having  inher- 
ent within  him  the  power  for  expression  and  being  in  the 
Great  Web  of  Truth,  cannot  escape  from  expression:  it 
is  inevitable.  Therefore,  man,  also,  in  his  ongoings  ar- 
rives at  the  seventh  day ;  and  it  is  in  the  morning  of  the 


606  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

seventh  day,  when  man  fully  awakens  to  the  reality  of  his 
being  as  he  really  is  in  God  and  the  universe  as  it  is,  that 
he  learns  to  know  the  Oneness  of  God  and  His  expressed 
creation.  Then  it  is  in  the  morning  of  this  seventh  day 
that  man  is  to  bring  into  expression  his  individuality, — 
that  divine  man,  which  he  now  knows  is  God-created. 
When  man  has  accomplished  this,  he,  too,  rests  in  action 
amidst  his  perfect  work.  Man's  perfect  work  is  to  extri- 
cate himself  from  the  thraldom  of  the  illusions  which  are 
so  very  subtle  and  illusive  that  they  envelope  man  in  a 
forest  very  thick  and  tangled  and  dark  with  no  direct 
path  leading  to  the  outer  edge ;  and  every  path  he  finds  in 
the  forest  of  the  carnal  illusions  leads  him  in  a  circle  and 
he  continually  travels  around  the  circle  and  remains  in 
the  same  place. 

Many  great  Souls  God  has  sent  to  earth,  with  the  Light 
as  bright  as  could  be  given,  in  the  six  days  of  the  ongoing 
of  carnality ;  but,  as  the  seventh  day  began  to  draw  near, 
God,  in  His  wisdom,  sent  the  great  Soul,  the  one  who 
stood  on  the  apex  in  the  invisible  realm  (invisible  to  the 
carnal  man  only)  to  become  the  Saviour  of  mankind; 
and  Jesus  Christ  was  born,  lived  and  gave  His  message, 
as  the  Father  caused  Him  to  give,  that  the  men  or  earth, 
who  were  at  the  seventh-day  dawn  of  their  ongoing, 
might  learn  the  deep  Truth  concerning  themselves,  God 
and  the  Universe.  This  is  doing  as  Jesus  said,  * '  Knowing 
the  Truth.*'  He  also  said,  ''And  the  Truth  shall  make 
you  free. ' '  Now  note, — it  is  not  your  thoughts  that  make 
you  free !  but  it  is  the  Truth,  by  knowing  it,  which  sets 
you  free. 

It  is  the  Absolute  Truth  of  man 's  Being  that  he  is  Free ; 
always  was,  and  ever  will  be ;  but  man,  through  the  mist 
forming  in  his  mind,  having  forgotten  this,  must  again 
become  conscious  of  it  (his  divine  self),  so  that  the 
thoughts  which  he  holds  and  the  power  of  his  mind  used 
in  denial  of  evil,  mist  and  confusion  and  the  affirmation 
of  the  Truth  concerning  God,  man  and  the  universe 


The  Web  of  Truth  507 

cleanses  his  mind.  It  is  then  clear  that  he,  when  he  ar- 
rives at  the  seventh  day,  stands  clean  from  the  prejudice, 
superstition  and  evil  beliefs  of  the  carnal  man  and  can 
enter  into  his  day  of  rest ;  and  as  ' '  God  rests  in  action,  * ' 
so  man,  in  his  illumined  and  redeemed  state,  rests  in 
action. 

The  planet,  having  entered  into  the  seventh  day,  the 
works  are  being  finished  and  the  turmoil  of  the  tribula- 
tions which  now  are  over  the  earth,  in  the  mist,  will  be 
consumed  in  and  by  the  fire  of  Divine  Love. 

The  Father  stands  ready  to  bless,  to  encourage  and  to 
strengthen  His  children — it  matters  not  to  Him  how  far 
they  have  become  lost  in  the  mists  of  their  own  mind — 
and  ever  welcomes  His  sons  when  they  return  Home.  He 
gave  them  a  robe,  and  man  when  he  returns  Home  is 
conscious  of  this  robe,  and  it  is  his  pure  Spirit-Body,  the 
Divine  man, — **The  image  and  likeness  of  God;**  and, 
when  the  Father  places  the  ring  upon  his  hand,  he  then 
is  conscious  of  his  at-one-ment  with  the  Father  and  sees 
the  perfectness  of  God,  of  His  creation  and  of  man, 
*'God*s  crowning  glory;**  and  he,  also,  with  the  eye  of 
vision  sees  the  perfection  of  God's  great  and  glorious 
plan.  He,  being  a  conscious  son  of  God  and  standing 
redeemed  at  Home  in  the  Father's  House,  knows  that  he 
has  made  the  circle.  Having  passed  out  from  the  Para- 
disiacal State  of  Bliss,  passed  from  the  Garden  of  Eden 
out  into  the  mists  of  the  Forest  of  Illusions  and  having 
arrived  at  the  seventh  day  of  his  ongoing,  he  has  found 
the  Pearl  of  Vast  Value  and  consciously  stands  in  the 
center  of  Paradise,  a  redeemed  Son  of  the  Living  God 
Almighty.  Humility,  tenderness,  strength  and  courage 
abide  within  him,  because  he  has  worked  out  his  problem 
in  the  great  Web  of  Truth  and  stands  Redeemed  at 
Home  in  God,  forever  and  forever. 

At  the  dawn  of  this  seventh  day  which  we  are  now  in, 
let  the  awakened  man,  in  all  places  and  in  aU  climes, 
study  the  message  which  Jesus  Christ  gave  for  those  who 


508  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

are  awakened  and  desire  freedom  full  and  complete  from 
the  Wheel  of  Birth  and  Death. 

This  is  accomplished  by  knowing  that  there  is  only  one 
God  and  that  there  is  instruction  in  the  message  of  Jesus 
given  from  the  Infinite,  Our  Father,  to  show  the  way 
from  death  into  Life,  from  darkness  into  Light,  from 
ignorance  into  the  Intelligence  which  brings  the  Christ- 
Consciousness. 

Dwell  thou,  0  thou  awakened  man,  in  the  Secret  Place 
of  the  Most  High,  then  under  His  wing  shalt  thou  abide. 

Abide  ye  consciously  in  the  presence  of  the  Living  God ; 
and  remember  at  all  times  and  in  all  places  that  Jesus 
said:  *'Ye  shall  know  the  Truth,  and  the  Truth  shall 
make  you  free.**    So  Be  It! 


PART  THREE 


DEDICATION. 

Dedicated  to  every  one,  who  desires 
TO  **Know  the  Truth"  and  apply  its 
precepts,  bringing  into  expression  the 

COMPLETENESS  OF  God'S  MESSAGE  TO  MAN, 
that  they  may  STEP  FORTH   CONSCIOUS 

Redeemed  sons  of  God. 


Sll 


CHAPTER  I 

DIVINE  CONVICTION 

MAN  may  read  the  deep  Truth,  he  may  believe  it; 
this  is  not  sufficient,  as  there  is  more  for  man 
than  reading  and  believing;  although  it  is  true 
that  man  will  believe  before  he  receives  the  fullness  of 
that  Light  which  the  scriptures  say  is,  ''That  Light  which 
lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world.*' 

When  man  awakens  from  the  Adam-sleep,  he  begins  to 
see  things  differently.  Before  he  awoke,  he  saw  only  the 
carnal  man,  living  the  carnal  life  and  weaving  the  web  of 
carnality;  and  saw  the  earth  around  him  expressing  in 
the  carnal  law,  believing  this  the  reality  of  man  and  the 
universe  and  that  God  is  far  away. 

When  man's  reason  is  touched  by  a  flash-light  from  the 
God-mind  within  him — his  Ego — it  being  the  infinite 
mind  individualized,  then  man  reasons  as  he  moves  along 
the  path  of  life  and  is  daily  ''halting  between  two 
opinions. ' ' 

The  reason  touched  by  a  flash-light  from  the  Divine 
Mind  would  have  him  consider  as  he  meets  experience 
upon  his  path,  and  learn  a  lesson.  The  carnal  mind  calls 
his  attention  to  those  things  of  the  sense-world  which  he 
sees  taking  place  around  him,  which  history  records  as 
having  taken  place  since  history  has  a  record. 

The  reason  may  whisper  "what  has  humanity  gained  in 
this  stupendous  panorama?''  but  the  sense  thunders 
make  such  noises  about  him  that  he  cannot  hear  the  Truth 
of  the  "Still  Small  Voice."  He  still  believes  that  the 
carnal  man  is  the  man  and  the  Soul  a  Divine  spark  which 

513 


514    •  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

will  escape  in  some  mysterious  way  at  the  death  of  his 
body. 

There  comes  a  time,  however,  when  the  Father-Mother- 
God  will  speak  so  clear  and  strong  the  words  of  Truth, 
that  man  will  distinctly  hear  the  call  to  him  *'Adam, 
where  art  thou?'* — **Man,  who  art  thou  and  whither 
dost  thou  journey  r*  This  voice,  Infinite  Love  and  In- 
telligence, speaks  to  every  man,  when  he  awakens  suffi- 
ciently to  hear  this  challenge  of  Destiny.  Then  Divine 
Conviction  stirs  within  man  and  he  endeavors  to  heed  the 
guidance  of  the  Divine  Voice. 

Man,  pushed  onward  by  the  inner  urge  of  the  Soul, 
through  the  Divine  Conviction  which  has  taken  place 
within  him,  will  not  be  content  again  to  drouse  and  slum- 
ber in  the  mists  of  sense-illusions. 

The  Infinite  is  the  Father  of  man.  This  is  the  Truth 
whether  man  knows  it  or  not,  whether  he  believes  it  or 
not.  What  man  believes  or  does  not  believe,  what  man 
understand  or  does  not  understand  concerning  the 
Father-Hood  of  God  and  the  son-ship  of  man  does  not 
alter  the  truth  of  it,  does  not  change  the  Truth  that 
*'God,  the  Absolute,  is  the  One,  made  manifest  in  the 
many. 

Truth  is  so  vital  that  to  know  it,  makes  man  free. 

The  Father,  through  the  light  in  reason  causes  man  to 
look  with  wonder  and  interest  at  those  things  to  which 
he  had  not  before  given  a  passing  thought. 

While  man  is  in  the  attitude  of  listening  attention,  the 
Father  touches  a  deeper  note  of  his  being,  when  Divine 
Conviction  takes  place  within  him  so  completely  that  he 
faces  about  and  follows  the  music  of  that  sweet-calling 
Voice. 

Divine  Conviction  is  that  stirring  within  man,  which 
causes  him  to  desire  to  know  God.  As  man  endeavors  to 
know  God,  he  will  learn  to  know  himself  and  all  men. 

Divine  Conviction  is  that  change  which  in  the  teachings 
of  the  second  dispensation  is  called  repentance. 


Divine  Conviction  515 

John  Baptist  came  preaching  repentance.  He  baptized 
unto  repentance.  It  means  that  change  which  must  come 
within  man  ere  he  turns  from  the  carnal  way  to  the 
Sacred  Path  which  leads  through  the  illusive  forest  to  the 
open  field,  wherein  the  Divine  Concept  of  God,  man  and 
the  Universe  makes  for  the  free  and  open  highway  of  our 
God. 

We  have  Jesus  Christ  as  our  Teacher  and  Way-Shower. 
When  those  came  to  Him  who  were  in  the  darkness  of 
illusions.  He  would  cast  out  the  evil  spirits  possessing 
them,  as  in  the  case  of  Mary  Magdalene,  from  whom  He 
cast  out  seven  devils.  Seven  in  numbers  mean  complete. 
We  thus  see  that  Mary  Magdalene  was  in  the  depth  of 
carnality  so  completely  that  she  was  under  the  fullness  of 
its  illusion.  It  is  said  that  she  was  a  harlot,  and  she,  per- 
haps, had  gone  so  far  in  recklessness  and  lust  that  there 
was  no  hope  in  the  minds  of  those  who  knew  only  of 
reformation,  not  having  heard  of  the  Second  Birth. 

But  Mary  came  in  touch  with  Jesus  Christ,  the  Divine 
Man  in  expression.  He  spoke  the  Divine  Words  which 
caused  her  to  halt.  When  she  stopped  and  listened,  the 
Father  touched  her  with  Divine  Conviction ;  then  she  be- 
lieved and  learned  that  there  is  a  better  way,  a  Divine 
Way,  upon  which  man  may  walk  and  learn  to  know,  Love 
and  Trust  God,  even  though  He  is  intangible  and  invisi- 
ble. Then  Mary  turned  from  that  path  whereon  she  was 
traveling,  although  it  was  strewn  with  flowers,  gold  and 
the  smiles  of  men  and  the  companionship  of  those  who 
were  walking  gayly  upon  the  same  path. 

The  Divine  Conviction  was  so  strong  within  Mary,  that 
her  sense  of  the  value  of  those  glittering  things  which  had 
been  before  of  great  importance  to  her,  vanished ;  and  she, 
through  the  urge  of  her  awakened  Soul,  sought  out  the 
Great  Teacher,  that  she  might  receive  His  teachings ;  and 
Mary  showed  her  appreciation  of  His  bringing  her  into 
illumination  by  bringing  an  Alabaster  Box  of  ointment 


616  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

very  precious  and  breaking  it,  poured  its  contents  upon 
the  body  of  Jesus,  its  fragrance  filling  the  house. 

Mary's  tears  flowed  freely  in  the  great  joy  of  finding 
the  Light  which  revealed  to  her  the  way  of  the  clean  Life 
and  Love, ' '  A  highway  there,  and  a  way,  *  *  in  which  even 
she,  whom  many  hesitated  not  to  scorn,  could  walk  and  be 
assisted,  taught,  guided  and  sustained  until  she  could 
stand  alone  in  God.  The  Illumination,  which  Christ  re- 
vealed to  her  conscious  mind,  made  her  see  that  she,  too, 
is  an  individual  manifestation  of  the  Infinite;  and  that 
in  the  full  Light  of  the  Great  Truth,  revealed  to  her,  that 
she, — that  individuality  which  God  caused  to  become  in- 
dividualized,— has  never  been,  neither  could  become  con- 
taminated by  experiences  upon  the  carnal  path.  Her 
tears,  then,  were  tears  of  joy,  that  she  had  found  the 
Light  and  the  Great  Teacher,  who  could  teach  her  the 
way  to  live,  so  that  she  might  continue  to  walk  in  the 
Light. 

"When  Divine  Conviction  takes  place  in  man  sufficiently 
strong  to  cause  him  to  turn  completely  around  and  enter 
upon  the  Sacred  Path,  it  is  not  necessary  that  he  spend 
any  time  in  shedding  repentant  tears,  because  his  action 
has  proven  his  repentance.  When  man  gets  this  close  to 
the  Bosom  of  the  Father-Mother  who  is  Infinite  Love  and 
"A  consuming  fire,*'  that  consuming  fire  will  consume 
all  past  mistakes  and  give  man  such  an  assurance  of  the 
Holy  Presence  that  man  will  weep  in  gratefulness  to  this 
Loving  Father,  Whom  he  has  found  to  be  so  near  and 
so  tender. 

When  a  thing  is  consumed  by  fire,  there  is  nothing  left 
but  the  ashes  and  the  wind  soon  blows  them  away.  The 
things  of  sin  have  no  more  power  or  place  in  the  man  who 
has  heard  the  Voice  of  God  and  become  quickened  into 
Divine  Conviction  and  continues  upon  the  Sacred  Path 
unto  perfect  illumination. 

When  this  change  takes  place  within  man,  he  turns 
from  the  broad  and  glittering  way  which  winds  through 
the  illusive  forest  of  carnality  and  steps  upon  that 


Divine  Conviction  517 

straight  and  narrow  Path  which  leads  direct  to  the  green 
fields,  in  which  is  the  Father  and  the  Father's  House. 

It  matters  not  what  Divine  Word  or  prayer  is  used  to 
open  that  other  state  of  consciousness  which  is  the  direct 
opposite  to  that  which  man  has  while  he  lives  a  mortal  in 
the  midst  of  mortality ;  as  different  words  are  used  at  dif- 
ferent times  hy  the  Illumined  Ones,  that  the  mind  of 
man  which  is  in  its  awakening  period  may  become 
quickened. 

All  the  books  which  have  been  written  in  the  past  or 
that  will  be  written  in  the  future,  containing  a  little  ray 
or  the  full  brightness  of  Truth,  have  been  written,  that 
the  men  of  earth  who  are  living  in  the  mist  of  earth- 
confusion,  may  find  the  Light  which  will  lighten  their 
path  and  assist  them  to  the  consciousness  of  full  illumina- 
tion. 

The  Father-Mother-God  being  Infinite  Intelligence  and 
Love,  never  forgets  His  children  and  is  ever  calling  to  the 
awakening  man,  '^Adam,  where  art  thou?"  We  remem- 
ber, in  olden  times,  God  has  said,  *  *  Be  still  and  know  that 
I  am  God. ' '  The  Psalmist  sang, ' '  He  that  dwelleth  in  the 
secret  place  of  the  Most  High,  shall  abide  under  the 
shadow  of  the  Almighty." 


CHAPTER  II 

UPON  THE  SACRED  PATH 

WHEN  Divine  Conviction  has  taken  place  in  man, 
after  his  awakening  from  the  sound  slumber  of 
the  Adam-sleep  and  the  Carnal-Dream,  and  he, 
like  Mary  Magdalene,  turns  face  about  and  steps  upon 
the  Sacred  Path,  he  will  desire  and  need  assistance. 

Mary  had  Jesus  Christ,  the  Conscious  Divine  Man,  to 
assist  her.  He  taught  her  those  things  which  she  should 
know  and  gave  her  wisdom  that  she  walk  direct  in  the 
center  of  the  Sacred  Path,  to  which  she  gave  herself  in 
the  hour  of  her  repentance  and  her  vision. 

The  record  of  Mary  Magdalene's  awakening,  her  aris- 
ing and  leaving  her  old  life  and  associates  and  seeking  the 
Great  Teacher,  that  she  might  learn  how  to  enter  and 
walk  upon  the  Sacred  Path,  tells  that  she  kept  contin- 
ually in  the  New  Way.  She  was  completely  awakened, 
quickened  and  changed.  She  had  learned  the  Truth  so 
deeply,  that  she  was  the  last  at  the  Cross  and  the  first  at 
the  Tomb  that  morning  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  which 
was  the  first  day  of  a  new  hope  for  humanity.  Mary 
knew  not  what  this  great  day  was,  yet  was  she  there  in 
the  early  morning.  Even  with  the  deep  teachings  she 
had  received  from  the  lips  of  Jesus  she  held  within  her 
mind  the  conception  of  the  old  dispensation  in  which  was 
thought  that  all  men  must  die. 

Mary,  with  the  reality  of  death  uppermost  in  her  mind, 
went  with  "spices  and  sweet  incense,"  that  she  might 
bestow  them  on  the  body  of  her  dear  Lord. 

Walking  through  the  dawn  she  did  not  have  the  vision 
618 


Upon  the  Sacred  Path  519 

Divine  clear  enough  to  perceive,  that  a  new  day  of  hope 
for  the  children  of  earth  was  at  hand,  so,  with  her  sym- 
bols of  mourning  in  her  hands,  she  approached  the  tomb. 
This  experience  of  Mary  fypifies  the  experience  of  all 
men  who,  after  their  awakening,  have  reached  where  the 
new  day's  dawn  has  shown  the  Sacred  Path  to  be  open. 
Mary  believed  in  death  and  was  still  bound  in  the  conven- 
tional customs  concerning  death,  burial  and  mourning. 
Even  though  she  had  so  completely  changed,  that  she  had 
left  her  old  life  and  its  associations,  and  was  walking 
upon  the  Sacred  Path,  believing  in  the  Father,  Jesus 
Christ,  and  in  the  Message  which  the  Great  Teacher  had 
taught  and  by  His  works  proven  to  be  Divine,  she  did  not 
know  the  fullness  of  the  Truth,  though  Jesus  Christ  had 
said, ' '  Ye  shall  know  the  Truth,  and  the  Truth  shall  make 
you  free.*' 

After  man  awakens  sufficiently  to  arise  as  Mary  did 
and  enter  upon  the  Sacred  Path,  he  can  see  that  the  Path 
must  be  traveled  over  from  that  starting  place  to  where 
the  Path  merges  into  the  destination  of  the  Father's 
House, — that  Paradisiacal  State  of  Conscious  Illumina- 
tion, wherein  man  stands  redeemed  in  Body,  Mind,  Soul 
and  Spirit. 

There  are  many  stages  upon  this  Path  and,  that  his 
feet  keep  faithfully  upon  it,  man  requires  teaching  and 
assistance  today,  just  as  Mary  did  in  that  other  day. 

When  Mary  approached  the  Tomb,  the  Great  Stone  was 
rolled  away; — "But  Mary  stood  without  at  the  sepul- 
chre weeping:  and,  as  she  wept,  she  stooped  down  and 
looked  into  the  sepulchre."    St.  John  20:11. 

"And  seeth  two  Angels  in  white,  sitting,  the  one  at  the 
head,  and  the  other  at  the  feet,  where  the  body  of  Jesus 
had  lain.    St.  John  20:12. 

The  Angels  spake  to  Mary  and  asked,  "Woman,  why 
weepest  thou  1 ' '  Mary  answered, ' '  They  have  taken  away 
my  Lord,  and  I  know  not  where  they  have  laid  Him." 


520  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Jesus  then  spake  to  her,  and  said,  ''Woman,  why  weepest 
thou  ?    Whom  seeketh  thou  ? ' ' 

* '  Jesus  saith  unto  her,  Mary !  She  turned  herself  and 
saith  unto  Him:  Rabboni!  which  is  to  say,  Master.'^ 
St.  John  20:16. 

' '  Jesus  saith  unto  her ;  touch  Me  not ;  for  I  am  not  yet 
ascended  to  My  Father;  but  go  to  My  brethren  and  say 
unto  them,  I  ascend  unto  My  Father,  and  your  Father, 
and  to  My  God  and  your  God. ' '    St.  John  20 :17. 

' '  Mary  Magdalene  came  and  told  the  disciples  that  she 
had  seen  the  Lord,  and  that  He  had  spoken  these  things 
unto  her. ' '    St.  John  20 :18. 

Instead  of  finding  the  dead  body,  as  Mary  had  ex- 
pected, she  found  the  Great  Stone  rolled  from  the  door 
and  the  tomb  empty  of  death  but  filled  with  the  living 
presence  of  the  two  angels  which  were  there.  There  were 
no  traces  of  death,  except  the  linens  which  had  been 
wound  around  the  body  of  Jesus  and  the  napkin  which 
had  covered  His  face. 

Life  has  no  need  for  grave  linens;  and  the  Christ- 
Illumination  removes  the  napkin  of  carnal  illusions  from 
the  face.  Henceforth  that  Christ-Conscious  Son  of  the 
Living  God  would  shine  in  such  resplendent  glory  that 
no  grave  linens,  neither  face  covering,  could  enfold  Him ; 
neither  could  the  rock-bound  tomb  hold  Him,  though  its 
door  be  sealed  with  the  Imperial  Seal  of  Rome. 

Jesus  Christ,  at  that  hour,  proved  that  man's  destina- 
tion is  dominion  over  carnality  and  that  there  is  a  door 
of  escape  for  humanity  (when  they  ''Know  the  Truth"), 
other  than  the  door  called  death. 

Jesus  Christ  in  that  early  morning  hour  had  arrived  at 
the  place  upon  the  Sacred  Path  where  it,  for  Him,  merged 
into  the  destination. 

Man  can  see  that  this  is  a  Path  upon  which  are  many 
initiations,  from  the  hour  when  Mary  Magdalene  started 
upon  it  until  the  place  is  attained  where  Jesus  stood, 
when  He  arose  from  the  sight  of  those  who  adored  Him 


Upon  the  Sacred  Path  521 

into  that  wonderful  change,  into  that  marvelous  dis- 
appearance which  is  called  the  ascension.  The  feet  of  the 
pilgrim  must  press  firmly  and  faithfully  upon  the  Path 
through  the  initiations. 

As  man  passes  along  the  Sacred  Path,  through  faith  in 
God,  in  prayer,  in  Jesus  Christ  and  in  himself,  he  under- 
stands that,  if  he  is  victorious,  he  must  and  will  courage- 
ously meet  any  obstacle  the  adversary  may  place  before 
him.  He,  with  understanding  and  faith,  can  stand  still 
in  the  center  of  the  Path  and  waver  not.  Even  though 
the  storms  rage  and  the  winds  of  adversity  whirl  about 
him,  he  perceives  that  there,  in  the  midst  of  these,  is  the 
place  to  ''Be  Still''  and  know  that  God  reigneth;  yea, 
that  God  Is. 

If  man  will  retire  into  the  Secret  Place  of  the  Most 
High,  he  can  there  abide  ''Under  the  shadow  of  the  Al- 
mighty. ' '  And  remember,  as  the  Psalmist  said,  ' '  Though 
I  make  my  bed  in  Hell,  thou  art  there. ' ' 

God  filling  all  space,  there  is  no  place  nor  condition 
where  God  is  not. 

With  the  mind  ever  stayed  upon  God  and  the  heart 
filled  with  love  for  God  and  God's  manifestations  and  a 
desire  to  express  this  Truth  understandingly,  all  Saints 
and  student-devotees  will  not  waver,  if  clouds  obscure  the 
Path,  because  they  know  of  a  surety  that  the  clouds  are 
of  the  earth  and  belong  to  earth's  conditions  and  that 
the  man  who  has  started  upon  the  Sacred  Path  is  endeav- 
oring to,  "As  much  as  within  him  lies,"  leave  the  earth 
conditions  behind.  To  do  so,  he  has  learned  that  he  must 
stand  bravely  upon  his  feet  and  face  any  experience  the 
adversary, — carnal  mind, — can  bring.  When  so  doing, 
he  remembers  that  God  at  creation  gave  man  dominion 
over  the  earth,  which  is  carnal  mind,  and  its  out-picture, 
the  carnal  body. 

Then  in  sweet  assurance  and  peaceful  abiding,  ask  the 
Father  to  assist,  so  that  you  can  stand ;  and  make  this  re- 
quest through  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  and  continue 
upon  the  Sacred  Path. 


CHAPTER  III 

PRACTICAL  APPLICATION  OF  THE  LAW 

FOR  man  to  walk  upon  the  Sacred  Path  and  work  out 
his  own  salvation,  it  is  necessary  that  he  have  a 
working  hypothesis.  This  is  found  in  the  message 
of  Jesus  Christ,  as  given  in  the  four  Gospels  of  the  New 
Testament ;  and  the  Bible  is  filled  with  an  inspired  mes- 
sage from  God  to  man.  Man  reads  the  Bible  according 
to  his  Light. 

Humanity  has  arrived  at  the  dawn  and  is  entering  into 
the  Third  Dispensation — the  New  Cycle — which  is  now 
at  hand;  and  many  are  living  in  that  concept  of  the 
regeneration  at  this  time.  Man  in  this  age  (the  one  thou- 
sand years  of.  spiritual  reign)  will  rise  into  the  full 
Light;  and  those  who  inhabit  the  earth,  after  this  New 
Age  is  fully  established,  will,  if  they  desire  to  remain 
here,  be  compelled  to  ''Know  the  Truth'*  and  to  under- 
stand the  practical  application  of  its  practices  and  pre- 
cepts. When  the  Spiritual  Age  is  fully  established,  the 
Spiritual  vibrations  will  vibrate  in,  over  and  through 
land  and  sea ;  and  for  man  to  dwell  here,  it  is  inevitable 
that  he  must  know  and  practice  the  rules  as  taught  by  the 
Great  Teacher,  that  he  may  become  in  Spiritual  rapport 
with  the  Spirit  of  God, — the  Spirit  that  is  God.  Only 
so  can  man  remain,  as  if  there  is  any  discord  with  these 
fine  vibrations,  he  must  go  hence. 

For  man  to  become  in  tune  with  the  music  of  the 
spheres  and  understandingly  live  thus  each  day  and 
hour,  it  is  necessary  that  he  learn  how  to  apply  the  prac- 
tical part  of  his  knowledge  and  that  he  add  the  prayer  of 

622 


Practical  Application  op  the  Law  523 

understanding  to  the  prayer  of  Faith  and  that  he  live  in 
the  wisdom  of  the  Regeneration. 

Faith  is  good  and  necessary;  but  the  Great  Teacher 
said,  **Ye  shall  know.''  When  man  knows  a  thing  he 
understands  it  and  when  he  understands  it  he  has  wis- 
dom. This  does  not  take  away  his  faith ;  it  only  accent- 
uates it ;  and  through  living  into  the  realization  of  right- 
eousness, faith  and  understanding  will  finally  become 
merged  into  one,  wherein  the  light  of  Wisdom,  shining 
upon  the  upward  gladdening  Path,  is  Illumination.  Then 
man  knows,  because  he  visions  with  other  eyes  than  those 
of  the  flesh. 

The  Truth  has  been  given  in  its  different  aspects,  in 
the  foregoing  parts  of  this  book,  in  its  absoluteness,  ex- 
pressed in  varied  expressions ;  our  desire  being,  that  all 
state  of  concept  find  a  note  that  will  ring  sweet,  strong 
and  clear  to  it,  that  thereby,  there  might  be  this  under- 
standing of  the  Golden  Tone  of  the  perfect  Whole.  This 
being  accomplished,  we,  with  grateful  hearts,  turn  to  the 
Infinite  and  whisper  our  gratitude  to  Him,  knowing  that 
it  is  He  who  can  *  *  Shift  the  Tempest  that  the  shorn  lamb 
may  not  suffer?" 

While  the  Truth  is  Absolute  and  God  and  His  manifes- 
tations is  all  there  in  reality  is,  man,  being  so  encased  in 
the  blinding  and  misleading  mists  of  earth  and  having 
lost  all  consciousness  of  his  Real-Self,  will,  when  he  awak- 
ens, find  that  he  and  all  men  must  work  out  his  own  sal- 
vation, as  though  it  depended  upon  his  unaided  hand, 
while  yet  it  is  "God  that  worketh  in  him  to  will  and  to 
do  of  His  good  pleasure. ' ' 

It  is  a  joyous  life  to  live,  after  one  awakens  and  starts 
upon  the  Sacred  Path,  determined  to  achieve  unto  the 
fullness  of  that  Perfection  which  the  Father  in  Heaven 
IS. 

None  need  expect  a  flowery  Path,  nor  a  bed  of  roses, 
but  must  endure  hardness  as  good  soldiers  of  Jesus 
Christ— the  Truth. 


524  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

If  a  miner  travels  to  the  gold  fields,  he  encounters  in- 
conveniences on  his  journey ;  but  these  do  not  depress  nor 
discourage  him,  because  his  heart's  desire  is  the  shining 
gold  he  expects  to  gather.  When  he  arrives  at  the  mine, 
he  puts  on  his  substantial  working  clothes  and  goes  down 
into  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  He  knows  before  he  starts 
that  he  will  have  many  unpleasant  experiences,  from 
which  he  shrinks  not;  for  his  desire  is  the  rare  and 
radiant  gold;  and  he  masters,  day  by  day,  the  obstacles 
which  confront  him ;  and  when  he  has  found  the  gold  he 
brings  it  to  the  earth's  surface,  that  there  it  may  be  re- 
fined in  the  fire,  revealing  its  true  quality,  which  is  pro- 
nounced by  the  overseer.  Perfect. 

So,  let  the  man  when  he  starts  in  search  of  that  one 
shining  metal,  the  only  one  that  is  worth  while, — the  gold 
of  Truth,  don  his  working  clothes  and  lay  aside  all  sham 
and  artificiality  and  with  strong  working  tools  stand  so 
impregnated  with  the  determination  to  get  that  one  valu- 
able metal,  that  neither  friend  nor  foe  nor  hard  rock  nor 
deep  shaft  can  deter  him  from  his  task.  As  an  ambassa- 
dor, when  he  starts  for  his  new  post  and  its  duties,  will 
let  no  one  influence  him  from  his  high  concept  of  honor, 
whether  they  speak  with  crude  speech  or  with  language 
eloquent  and  silver-tongued,  so  nothing  of  the  roughness 
of  the  way,  nothing  of  beauty  native  to  **The  Primrose 
Path"  can  deter  the  steps,  nor  cause  a  single  pause  to  be 
allowed,  as  the  Path  to  the  High  Court  of  Heaven  is 
traveled. 

Therefore,  dear  student-devotee,  this  problem  is  with 
yourself  and  God.  None  can  work  this  problem  for  you, 
easing  the  way  for  your  idleness.  It  is  your  own  work 
and  only  your  own  hands  can  do  it,  as  only  your  own 
heart  can  beat  in  the  bliss  of  your  attainment.  Infinite 
Love  has  ever  revealed  His  Presence  to  man  and  inspired 
the  Prophets  in  all  Ages  and  given  to  man  as  bright  a 


Practical  Application  of  the  Law  525 

Light  as  he  can  assimilate,  so  that  he  pass  out  of  the 
shadows  into  the  sunlight  of  God's  Eternal  Love,  where 
is  the  true  Spiritual  Seeing  and  the  true  Spiritual  Living. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  SCIENTIFIC  MAN 

THE  man  who  has  studied  the  teachings,  as  given  in 
this  book,  and  imbibed  the  Spirit  and  attained  the 
Christ- Consciousness  and  is  living,  awake  and 
about  his  Father's  business,  is  a  ** Scientific  Christian;" 
therefore  a  scientific  man. 

Man  can  be  a  Christian;  he  can  love  God  and  Jesus 
Christ ;  he  can  live  a  holy  and  upright  life  and  not  be  a 
** Scientific  Christian."  Some  may  ask,  what  is  the  dif- 
ference between  a  Christian  and  a  ^'Scfentific  Chris- 
tian?" 

The  man  who  is  a  Christian  has  a  change  of  heart ;  he 
has  faith  in  God,  believes  in  God's  message  to  man  and 
accepts  Jesus  Christ  as  God's  messenger;  but  his  mind 
is  not  effected,  is  not  awakened  into  thinking  in  the  Wis- 
dom of  the  Truth.  Only  through  faith  and  believing  is 
he  moved.  Not  having  his  mind  quickened,  he  necessa- 
rily looks  to  the  beyond  for  his  reward  and  misses  the 
rejoicing  righteousness  that  is.  His  mind,  filled  with  the 
beliefs  of  Good  and  evil,  he  is  as  the  leaves  of  the  trees, 
blown  about  by  the  wind  and  storms,  changing  with  what- 
ever wind  that  blows.  Believing  that  the  storms  are  sent 
by  God,  he  endeavors  the  best  he  can  to  submit  to  them, 
thinking  it  pleases  God  to  see  him  thus  afflicted.  When 
sickness  and  pain  overtake  him,  he  gives  no  resistance 
because  he  believes  that  it  is  the  Father's  pleasure  to 
place  these  burdens  upon  him. 

We  find  that  in  olden  times,  one.  Job,  awoke  to  the 
absurdity  of  such  teachings. 

526  ■ 


The  Scientific  Man  527 

The  Book  of  Job  did  not  find  its  way  into  the  old 
Bible  and  remain  there  through  all  the  ecclesiastical 
cleanings  to  which  the  Bible  has  been  subjected,  except 
that  it  is  by  the  Intelligence  of  God,  presented  for  the 
helpful  wisdom  which  it  contains.  Since  Moses  began  his 
ministry  and  Adam  dwelt  in  the  Garden  of  Eden,  the 
Truth  has  sought  expression  that  it  might  reach  and  teach 
ignorant  man,  bringing  him  into  the  light  of  wisdom. 

In  the  Book  of  Job  we  find  that  he  was  a  just  and  up- 
right man,  a  Christian, — or  he  would  be  called  that  to- 
day,— believing  that  God  prospered  or  afflicted  him  ac- 
cording to  God's  change  of  mood  and  mind. 

When  the  winds  of  adversity  began  to  blow  against 
Job,  they  were  severe ;  and  trial  after  trial  was  brought 
to  him  to  test  his  sincerity. 

We  read  that  God  permitted  Satan,  unto  the  fullness 
of  his  perverse  power,  to  place  afflictions  upon  Job,  with 
but  one  restriction,  and  that  was  that  he  could  not  take 
Job  ^s  life,  which  is  a  thing  impossible ;  for  Satan — error 
— has  no  power  to  touch  the  Divine-Man,  that  which  is 
the  manifestation  of  the  Living  God. 

In  these  experiences  of  Job  we  read  the  history  of  the 
Soul  of  Man,  as  it  awakens  and  believes  that  God  is  able 
to  express  both  Good  and  evil,  finding  himself  in  that 
chaotic  state  wherein  Satan  seemed  even  more  real  than 
God. 

In  the  midst  of  his  affliction,  which  history  tells  that 
God  permitted  Satan  to  place  upon  him.  Job  found  that 
he  must  go  deeper  than  faith  and  believing;  and  so  he 
gave  answer  to  the  three  learned  friends  who  came  to 
comfort  him,  who  in  reality  were  to  an  awakened  Soul, 
such  as  Job  was,  veritable  councilors  of  despair.  Each 
came  to  Job  when  his  Soul  was  reaching  out  to  express 
spiritual  consciousness.  When  afflictions  came  to  his 
body  and  his  wife,  beholding  his  sufferings,  said  to  him : 
**Dost  thou  still  retain  thine  integrity?    Curse  God  and 


528  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

die,'*  (J oh  2:9.)  Job  did  not  swerve  from  his  integrity, 
but  continued  to  work  at  his  problems  without  denying 
his  righteousness  of  heart  and  of  life. 

We  find  that  in  Job's  answer,  in  the  twelfth  chapter  of 
the  book,  he  is  getting  deeper  into  the  Truth,  saying: 
*'Who  knoweth  not  in  all  these  that  the  hand  of  the  Lord 
hath  wrought  this,'*  ''In  whose  hand  is  the  Soul  of  every 
living  thing,  and  the  breath  of  mankind?"  "Doth  not 
the  ear  try  words  as  the  mouth  tasteth  meat?"  J  oh 
12:9,  10,  11. 

After  this  change  has  taken  place  within  him,  Job,  to 
a  certain  degree,  becomes  conscious  of  his  Divine  Sonship 
and  of  his  dominion  with  which  God  has  endued  him; 
for  in  speaking  to  his  three  friends,  he  said:  "Behold 
now,  I  Eave  ordered  my  cause;  I  know  that  I  shall  be 
justified."    Job  13:18. 

Thus  we  see  that  Job,  when  the  dire  afflictions  of  Satan 
were  upon  him,  did  not  submit  to  them,  but  began  to 
analyze  the  situation  and  to  examine  himself  and  stood 
strong  in  his  faith  in  God,  and  so,  emerging  to  a  certain 
degree,  from  a  Christian,  into  a  ' '  Scientific  Christian. ' ' 

A  *  *  Scientific  Christian ' '  is  one  who  has  understanding 
concerning  the  Truth  and  God's  Laws  operating  in  and 
♦hrough  it  and  has  learned  that  it  is  not  God  who  causes 
afflictions  and  the  calamities  which  befall  him.  He  has 
learned,  also,  what  that  thing  spoken  of  as  Satan  really  is. 

Then  the  Scientific  Man  bravely  faces  the  unpleasant 
things  which  come  to  or  upon  him  and  with  his  silently 
spoken  Truth  ladened  with  the  Power  of  God  commands 
the  pain,  disease  or  poverty  to  depart,  denying  their  ex- 
istence, reducing  them  to  nothing. 

A  Scientific  Man  is  one  in  whom  is  fulfilled  the  knowl- 
edge of  Jesus  Christ,  who  said:  "You  shall  know  the 
Truth." 

The  "Scientific  Christian"  will,  if  he  keeps  diligently 
about  his  seeking  and  achieving,  reap  the  fruits  of  his 


The  Scientific  Man  529 

labor  in  the  liberty  which  Jesus  promised, — "And  the 
Truth  shall  make  you  free. ' ' 

Freedom  is  the  Divine  State  of  man.  It  is  the  Real- 
Self  of  each  man.  It  is  the  individuality  or  Divine-Man 
of  each  and  all,  where  in  consciousness  we  have  come 
forth  from  the  encasing  mask  which  is  known  as  per- 
sonality. 

There  is  no  permanent  happiness  nor  contentment  for 
man,  as  long  as  he  lives  in  the  belief  that  his  personality 
is  the  Real  and  only  Man. 

The  man  who  becomes  a  "Scientific  Christian"  lives 
not  in  recognition  of  the  personality.  The  man  who 
scales  the  heights  and  stands  on  the  Mount  of  Transfigu- 
ration through  knowing  the  Truth,  passing  from  person- 
ality into  individuality,  is  a  "Scientific  Christian." 
Here  upon  this  plane  such  "Scientific  Christianity"  is 
accomplished. 

The  scientific  man  knows  that  death  has  no  power  over 
him  and  that  passing  through  its  portals  does  not  assist 
him  in  his  ongoings  unto  the  solving  of  his  problems,  but 
delays  him,  rather. 

By  studying  the  esoteric  side  of  the  message  of  Jesus 
and  reading  with  the  inner  eye,  the  Eye  of  Vision,  it  is 
plain  to  be  seen  that  man^s  problem  is  to  be  solved  here 
on  this  plane  of  action.  Why  do  we  assert  this  ?  Because 
we  perceive  that  carnality  is  the  outer  or  objective  mind 
of  man ;  and  that  in  this  objective  carnality  is  the  plane 
upon  which  his  consciousness  of  the  Truth  must  work  out 
his  Freedom. 

When  man  passes  through  the  experience  called  death, 
he  is  shorn  of  the  objective  ability  to  accomplish  any- 
thing toward  solving  his  problem  until  he  takes  up  his 
thread  of  life  again  here  on  the  objective  plane. 

Then,  truly,  man  can  see  that  there  is  no  way  out  but 
to  do  as  Jesus  said :  "Know  the  Truth,"  and,  when  man 
fully  and  completely  knows  the  Truth,  he  is  a  "Scientific 
Christian." 


530  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

The  scientific  man  stands  still  in  the  midst  of  the 
storm,  having  come  into  the  understanding  of  the  Scien- 
tific Law  of  God,  and  consciously  standing  upon  the  rock 
• — the  Absolute  Truth — he  speaks  peace  to  the  storm, 
when  the  calm  following  the  word  will  become  an  evi- 
dence of  mastery  in  the  Truth.  He  will  speak  health, 
and  it  will  become  manifest  where  disease  was  raging. 
When  he  meets  one  whose  mind  is  unbalanced,  he  speaks 
saneness,  balance  and  poise,  and  the  man  becomes 
clothed  in  the  sane  mind,  which  is  the  God-mind. 

In  the  presence  of  a  fully  illumined  Scientific  Man, 
death  cannot  enter  nor  abide,  because  he  is  conscious  of 
Life  Eternal. 

When  the  Illuminated  and  Scientific  Jesus  met  the 
funeral  procession  of  the  widow's  son.  He  commanded 
those  who  were  carrying  the  bier  to  stand  still  and  He 
spoke  the  Spiritual  Words  which  were  ladened  with  the 
power  of  God's  Conscious  Life,  and  the  young  man 
sat  up. 

The  Word,  be  it  audibly  or  silently  spoken  by  the 
Scientific  Man,  when  spoken  in  the  silent  Realization  of 
its  God-ladened  power,  is  softly  and  sweetly  spoken,  be- 
cause it  requires  no  force  from  the  personal,  or  physical, 
man  to  assist  it. 

No  force,  self-will,  determination  nor  selfish  desire  can 
in  any  way  assist  the  Word  which  the  Scientific  Man 
speaks  at  the  bidding  of  the  Holy  Spirit  within  him. 

We  remember  here  that  Jesus  Christ  was  and  is  the 
most  scientific  man  who  has  lived  upon  this  earth,  yet  He 
used  such  methods  as  His  insight  into  the  carnal  mind 
and  environments  of  man  knew  to  be  required. 

'  *  He  laid  His  hands  upon  them  and  healed  them ; ' '  and 
St.  Paul  and  St.  Peter,  His  disciples,  sent  handkerchiefs 
and  aprons  after  that  they  prayed  that  the  Power  of  God 
might  become  manifest  in  them  to  the  afflicted  that  they 
might  be  healed, — and  they  were  healed. 


The  Scientific  Man  531 

The  Scientific  Man  does  not  do  this  in  blind  faith  in 
God;  but,  through  scientific  knowledge,  he  understands 
how  this  work  is  accomplished. 

Man,  to  be  perfectly  scientific,  keeps  his  eye  single.  He 
remembers  that  God  is  Love,  God  is  Peace,  God  is  Har- 
mony, God  is  Intelligence  and  all  Power  and  everywhere 
present.  When  other  things  present  themselves  to  him 
for  recognition,  he  at  once  places  them  where  they  belong, 
knowing  that  that  misleading  is  in  the  mists  of  the  carnal 
mind.  He  ever  remembers  that  the  sunlight  will  absorb 
the  thickest  mists ;  that  the  Truth  is  God 's  sunlight. 

A  ''Scientific  Christian*'  is  not  devoid  of  devotion. 
His  life  becomes  a  constant  prayer,  for  he  remembers  that 
Jesus  said,  "Watch  and  pray.'* 

The  thoroughly  Scientific  Man  is  quickened  in  his  four- 
fold nature, — Body,  Mind,  Soul  and  Spirit.  Through 
understanding  the  inner  Spiritual  message  of  Jesus,  man 
comes  to  the  initiation  where  he  in  his  four-fold  nature 
is  joined  in  Holy- Wedlock  with  the  loving  and  living 
Truth,  and  he  then  is  conscious  of  his  oneness  and  his 
individuality ;  and  his  next  initiation  is  his  conscious  at- 
one-ment  with  the  Father. 

Each  initiation,  to  the  "Scientific  Christian,"  is  a 
Realization  that  this  thing  is  accomplished  within  him; 
and  he  ever  keeps  his  mind  in  remembrance  of  that  reve- 
lation, until  it  is  wrought  out  in  the  objective.  Then  he 
can  stand  before  the  world  a  master  over  his  carnal  mind 
and  environments  and  assist  those  of  his  fellow  man  who 
call  upon  him  for  assistance  through  his  scientific  realiza- 
tion of  the  Truth. 

The  "Scientific  Christian,"  who  has  the  Christ  born 
within  him,  ever  stands  ready  to  give  "a  cup  of  cold 
water  in  Christ 's  name ' '  to  any  of  the  children  of  earth 
who  call  upon  him.  He  conscientiously  does  his  work, 
knowing  that  it  is  God  who  giveth  the  increase.  The 
illumined    "Scientific    Christian"    gives   sincerely   and 


532  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

freely  of  that  Spiritual  bread  of  which  he  knoweth,  hav- 
ing entered  the  place  of  the  hidden  manna  by  desire, 
prayer,  study,  devotion,  meditation  and  concentration. 
Having  made  the  sacrifice  necessary  and  having  attained 
unto  the  Light,  he  gives  freely  to  the  one  who  has  not 
found  the  Light  and  understanding  sufficiently  strong  to 
enable  him  to  stand  alone  without  the  assistance  of  the 
one  who,  having  awakened  a  little  earlier  in  the  morning 
and  started  upon  the  Sacred  Path,  is  able  to  give  him  aid 
in  the  hour  of  his  need.  Such  Souls  should  fully  appre- 
ciate the  assistance  given  them  and  give  freely  of  their 
substance,  that  the  Spiritual  Teacher  may  be  provided 
for  without  having  to  have  anxious  thought,  that  freed 
from  anxiety,  they  may  be  able  to  teach,  uplift  and  heal 
their  fellow  man,  giving  up  all  their  time  to  the  ministry 
of  the  Truth. 

The  "Scientific  Christian,"  who  is  enabled  to  teach, 
assist  and  heal  finds  that  it  is  very  important  that  he  live 
close  in  consciousness  to  God ;  that,  if,  in  fact,  he  is  as  he 
should  be,  he  must  abide  in  the  "Shadow  of  the  Al- 
mighty,** yea,  in  the  "Secret  place  of  the  Most  High." 
From  that  secret  trusting  place  his  words  of  prayer,  be 
they  silent  or  audible,  it  matters  not,  spring  from  the  con- 
scious at-one-ment  with  the  Father-Mother-God,  and  are 
therefore  ladened  with  the  Power  of  the  Divine-Wisdom 
and  the  Eternal  Life. 

The  Scientific  man  understands  that  there  is  a  law, — 
as  you  give  you  receive ;  he,  therefore,  endeavors  to  con- 
scientiously give  to  the  best  of  his  Spiritual  understand- 
ing to  those  who  call  upon  him  for  assistance. 

If  man  comes  for  assistance  with  selfishness  filling  his 
heart  and  mind  and  thinks  to  achieve  here  in  the  Spir- 
itual field  as  in  the  carnal  business  world  by  getting  all 
he  can  for  nothing,  let  him  stop  and  study  the  Spiritual 
Law  and  know  that  the  harvest,  in  kind  and  certain,  fol- 
lows the  kind  of  seed  which  is  sown. 

When  the  * '  Scientific  Christian ' '  stands  upon  the  sum- 
mit in  the  fullness  of  illumination,  his  consciousness  is 


The  Scientific  Man  533 

filled  with  Divine-Satisfaction.  He  then  knows  that  he  is 
a  Eedeemed  Son  of  God  and  at  Home  in  the  Father's 
House  (the  Universe)  with  the  consciousness  of  Eternity 
and  its  Life  of  Ecstasy  and  Bliss.  He  perceives  that 
Peace,  Love  and  Harmony  are  in  expression  within  and 
around  him.  In  these  he  rests  and  is  blest ;  in  these  he 
acts  and  blesses. 


CHAPTER  V 

JOYOUSLY  LIVING  IN  THE   SUNLIGHT  OF 
GOD'S  LOVE 

THE  pen  moves  rapidly  in  expressing  the  beauties 
of  that  land  which  we  behold  with  the  eye  of  the 
Soul, — the  Illumined  Vision.  Even  though  the 
song  of  the  Poet,  the  brush  of  the  Artist  and  the  rejoicing 
of  the  Saints  were  expressed  in  profusion  and  perfection, 
those  who  have  not  become  acquainted  with  and  basked 
in  the  sunlight  of  God's  Love  have  no  Realization  of  the 
glowing  warmth,  the  inspiring  Courage  and  sublime 
Peace,  which  the  one  has,  who,  Understandingly, 
Serenely  and  Appreciatively  lives  in  the  Sunlight  of 
God's  Love. 

God-Love  is  that  exquisite  Essence  which  none  can  pic- 
ture, describe  nor  portray  to  another.  It  must  be  felt, 
realized  and  appreciated  by  man  for  himself  ere  he  knows 
its  vital  Presence. 

In  that  beautiful  land,  where  there  are  no  clouds  to 
obstruct  the  vision  and  the  fields  are  ever  green,  where 
the  rivers  of  water  are  clear  and  refreshing  and  Life  in 
affulgence  is  everywhere  expressed,  there  it  is  that  God's 
Sunlight  of  Love  abounds ;  and  man,  knowing  this,  lives 
in  joyous  gratitude  amidst  the  expressed  perfection  of 
God. 

King  David,  when  in  moments  of  ecstatic  bliss  and  rap- 
ture redolent  with  the  joyousness  of  being  conscious  of 
God's  Sunlight  of  Love,  sang  his  songs  of  Praise  and  ex- 
pressed according  to  the  degree  of  his  inspiration. 

534 


Joyously  Living  in  the  Sunlight  of  God's  Love    535 

In  Psalm,  the  twenty-first,  a  thanksgiving  for  victory, 
and  confidence  of  further  success.  King  David  said, 

' '  The  King  shall  joy  in  thy  strength,  0  Lord ;  and  in 
Thy  salvation  how  greatly  shall  he  rejoice."  Psalm 
21:1. 

"Thou  hast  given  him  his  hearths  desire,  and  hast  not 
withholden  the  requests  of  his  lips,  Selah.  * '  Psalm  21 :2. 

**For  thou  preventest  him  with  the  blessings  of  good- 
ness: thou  settest  a  crown  of  pure  gold  on  his  head.*' 
Psalm  21:3. 

"He  asked  life  of  Thee  and  Thou  gavest  it  him,  even 
length  of  days  forever  and  ever. ' '    Psalm  21 :4. 

"For  the  King  trusteth  in  the  Lord,  and  through  the 
Mercy  of  the  most  High  he  shall  not  be  moved. ' '  Psalm 
21:7. 

"Be  thou  exalted.  Lord,  in  thy  own  strength;  so  will 
we  sing  and  praise  thy  power. ' '    Psalm  21 :13. 

Again  the  Psalmist  said,  "The  Lord  also  will  be  a 
refuge  for  the  oppressed,  a  refuge  in  times  of  trouble.'' 
Psalm  9:9. 

"And  they  that  know  thy  name  will  put  their  trust  in 
thee:  for  thou.  Lord,  hast  not  forsaken  them  that  seek 
Thee."    Psalm  9:10. 

"Sing  praises  to  the  Lord,  which  dwelleth  in  Zion: 
declare  among  the  people  his  doings."    Psalm  9:11. 

"For  the  Lord  God  is  a  sun,  and  shield:  the  Lord  will 
give  grace  and  glory:  no  good  thing  will  He  withhold 
from  them  that  walk  uprightly."    Psalm  74:11. 

*  *  Teach  me  thy  way,  0  Lord ;  I  will  walk  in  thy  Truth : 
unite  my  heart  to  fear  thy  name".    Psalm  76:11. 

"I  will  praise  thee,  0  Lord,  my  God,  with  all  my  heart : 
and  I  will  glorify  thy  name  forever  more. "    Psalm  76:12. 

"His  foundation  is  the  holy  mountain."    Psalm  77:1. 

"The  Lord  loveth  the  gates  of  Zion  more  than  all  the 
dwellings  of  Jacob."    Psalm  77:2. 

"Glorious  things  are  spoken  of  thee,  0  City  of  God, 
Selah."    Psalm  77:3. 


536  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

* '  0  come,  let  us  sing  unto  the  Lord :  let  us  make  a  joy- 
ful noise  to  the  rock  of  our  salvation/'    Psalm  95:1. 

''Let  us  come  before  His  presence  with  thanksgiving, 
and  make  a  joyful  noise  unto  Him  with  Psalms. ' '  Psalm 
95:2. 

*  *  For  the  Lord  is  a  great  God,  and  a  great  King  above 
all  gods.  *'    Psalm  95:3. 

"Make  a  joyful  noise  unto  the  Lord,  all  ye  lands." 
Psalm  100:1. 

* '  Serve  the  Lord  with  gladness :  come  before  His  pres- 
ence with  singing,"    Psalm  100:2. 

"Know  ye  that  the  Lord,  He,  is  God :  it  is  He  that  hath 
made  us,  and  not  we  ourselves;  we  are  His  people,  and 
the  sheep  of  His  pasture."    Psalm  100:3. 

"Enter  into  His  gates  with  thanksgiving,  and  into  His 
courts  with  praise :  be  thankful  unto  Him,  and  bless  His 
name. ' '    Psalm  100 :4. 

"For  the  Lord  is  Good:  His  mercy  is  everlasting;  and 
His  Truth  endureth  to  all  generations.    Psalm  100:5. 

When  man  has  the  Truth  established  in  his  mind  and 
heart  until  it  is  uppermost  in  his  mind  at  all  times,  he 
will  in  deep  moments  of  conscious  at-one-ment  with  God, 
the  All-Good,  sing  songs  of  Praise  and  Gratitude. 

When  man,  through  earnest  endeavor  and  the  deter- 
mination to  make  any  sacrifice  that  he  may  reach  the 
summit  of  the  Holy  Mountain  and  there  stand  clothed 
in  the  mantle  of  God  and  through  Realization  and  Vision 
abide  in  conscious  at-one-ment  with  the  Infinite,  our 
Father-Mother-God;  then  and  there  he,  conscious  of  his 
individuality,  breathes  in  Rhythm  with  the  music  of  the 
Spheres,  and  with  his  ear  attuned  to  the  Infinite  Heart, 
he  hears  the  lullaby  of  Love  and  Life,  as  it  whispers  over 
the  chords  of  the  Infinite  Harp. 

With  the  Eye  of  Vision  man,  from  the  summit  of  the 
Holy  Mountain,  sees  the  Beautiful  Land  which  is  God- 
Perfection  in  expression.  This  is  the  Holy  Land  (the 
land  of  Canaan),  that  desired  destination  of  man,  when 


Joyously  Living  in  the  Sunlight  of  God's  Love    537 

he  has  passed  through  the  forest  of  illusions,  of  which 
the  forty  years*  wanderings  of  the  Hebrew  children  in 
the  wilderness  is  typical. 

Then  thou,  0  man,  who  hast  arrived  at  the  summit  of 
the  Holy  Mountain  (The  Truth), — stand  thou  still  in 
conscious  strength.  Love,  Peace  and  Power  and  lave  in 
contentment  amidst  the  Perfect  expressions  of  the  Eter- 
nal God. 

Be  still  and  let  the  Holy  Breath  breathe  you,  the  One 
Life  live  you.  Then  perceive  that  there  is  one  golden 
web  which  holds  all  in  its  embrace.  Its  golden  threads 
bind  each  and  all  expressions  into  oneness.  The  golden 
web  is  Love  Divine;  the  golden  thread  is  God-Love,  the 
Wisdom  Bliss  of  Aum. 

Then  in  the  Illumined  concept  of  the  Divinity  of  man 
and  his  at-one-ment  with  God  and  his  unity  with  God's 
expressions,  man  can  ever  live  in  the  Sunlight  of  God's 
Love. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  man  be  on  the  summit  of  the 
mountain  to  live  in  the  Sunlight  of  God's  Love,  because 
the  sun  shines  just  as  bright  in  the  valley  as  on  the  moun- 
tain top;  therefore,  when  man  is  in  the  valley,  let  him 
turn  his  face  toward  the  summit  of  the  Holy  Mountain. 

We  read  in  the  Book  of  Daniel,  a  Prophet  of  God  in 
the  First  Dispensation,  concerning  the  decree  of  King 
Nebuchadnezzar,  that  all  should  bow  down  and  worship 
the  golden  image,  which  the  King  had  caused  to  be  set  up 
and  of  the  refusal  of  the  three  Jews  to  so  do.  ' '  Shadrach, 
Meshach  and  Abednego,  answered  and  said  to  the  king, 
O  Nebuchadnezzar,  we  are  not  careful  to  answer  thee  in 
this  matter."  Dan.  3:16. 

'  *  If  it  be  so,  our  God  whom  we  serve  is  able  to  deliver 
us  from  the  burning  fiery  furnace,  and  he  will  deliver  us 
out  of  thine  hand,  0  king."    Dan.  3:17. 

*  'But  if  not,  be  it  known  unto  thee,  0  king,  that  we  will 
not  serve  thy  gods,  nor  worship  the  golden  image  which 
thou  hast  set  up. ' '    Dan.  3:18. 


538  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

These  three  Hebrews,  being  thoroughly  convinced  that 
the  One  God  '*Is  God/'  stood  the  test  of  their  conviction, 
and,  even  though  they  were  in  the  valley,  they  prayed  to 
the  One  God  whose  dwelling  place  is  the  Summit  of  the 
Holy  Mountain;  and,  living  in  the  Sunlight  of  God's 
Love,  they  stood  still  in  faith  in  the  one  God,  in  the  face 
of  the  approaching  storm.  The  king  had  them  bound 
and  cast  into  the  furnace  which  was  heated  to  seven  times 
greater  heat."  Then  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  king,  was 
astonished,  and  rose  up  in  haste  and  spake,  and  said  unto 
his  counsellors,  did  not  we  cast  three  men  bound  into  the 
midst  of  the  fire  1  They  answered  and  said  unto  the  king, 
True,  0  king. ' '    Dan,  3 :24. 

*  *  He  answered  and  said,  Lo,  I  see  four  men  loose,  walk- 
ing in  the  midst  of  the  fire,  and  they  have  no  hurt ;  and 
the  form  of  the  fourth  is  like  the  Son  of  God.    Dan.  3:25. 

*  *  Then  Nebuchadnezzar  came  near  to  the  mouth  of  the 
burning  fiery  furnace  and  spake  and  said,  Shadrach, 
Meshach  and  Abednego,  ye  servants  of  the  most  high  God, 
come  forth,  and  come  hither.  Then  Shadrach,  Meshach 
and  Abednego  came  forth  out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire." 
Dan.  3:26. 

*  *  Then  Nebuchadnezzar  spake,  and  said.  Blessed  be  the 
God  of  Shadrach,  Meshach  and  Abednego,  who  hath  sent 
his  angel,  and  delivered  his  servants  that  trusted  in  him, 
and  have  changed  the  king's  word,  and  yielded  their 
bodies,  that  they  might  not  serve  nor  worship  any  god, 
except  their  own  God. ' '    Dan.  3 :28. 

Thus  man  can  see  that  it  is  within  man's  own  province 
when  the  storms  overtake  him,  be  they  what  they  may, 
whether  he  bows  down  to  the  graven  images  which  every- 
where abound  in  the  valley  through  which  man  travels 
while  living  in  carnality ;  or,  if  he  will  arise  in  conscious 
understanding  of  the  One  God,  and  of  His  Omnipresence, 
Omnipotence  and  Omniscience  and  in  that  positive  and 
active  faith  and  abiding  trust  pray  to  the  One  God  and 


Joyously  Living  in  the  Sunlight  of  God's  Love    539 

be  still  and  know  that,  even  though  the  king  bind  you 
and  cast  you  into  the  fire  (tests),  God  will  deliver  you, 
and,  if  Infinite  Love  desires  to  send  an  angel,  like  as  unto 
the  Son  of  God,  to  cut  the  cords  that  bind  you,  Amen! 
because  God  ever  knoweth  best. 

If  the  three  Hebrew  men  had  not  been  living  joyously 
in  the  Sunlight  of  God's  Love  when  the  seeming  dark 
cloud  hung  so  low  that  it  enveloped  them,  they  would 
have  looked  only  into  the  darkness  of  the  cloud  and  lost 
their  clear  vision  of  God's  Sunlight  of  Love. 

When  man  has  learned  the  Message  of  Truth  which  is 
given  by  God  through  His  chosen  instruments  in  the  Holy 
Bible  from  Genesis  to  Revelation  and  understands  the 
deep,  inner  Truth,  which  lies  in  the  completeness  of  this 
Message  from  Infinite  Intelligence  to  His  children, — the 
individual  manifestations  of  Himself,  through  Jesus 
Christ,  His  Conscious  Redeemed  Son, — he  then  can  truly 
live  joyously,  and  each  moment  will  be  one  of  Bliss  and 
Contentment;  and  in  grateful  ecstasy  he  can  dwell  con- 
sciously in  the  sublime  Presence  where  there  is  Sunlight 
forever  and  forever;  and  the  beauty  of  God  is  so  ex- 
quisite, that  the  Soul  rests  in  it  and  is  fed  by  that  attri- 
bute of  God, — ^Beauty,  which  is  such  a  blessing  to  the 
awakened  man. 

Just  for  one  moment  let  the  mind  picture  this  world 
with  no  flowers,  no  green  fields,  no  orchards,  no  groves, 
no  winding  rivers !  Then,  quickly  indeed,  does  the  mind 
respond  in  joyous  gratitude  to  God  for  His  mantle  of 
beauty,  which  man  sees  spread  around  him  everywhere. 

In  this  outer  mantle  of  God,  which  is  called  nature, 
there  is  a  legable  language  which  the  Soul  of  the  awak- 
ened man  reads  from  hour  to  hour,  from  day  to  day  and 
which  refreshes  the  Soul,  because  it  teaches  of  that  Real, 
Eternal  and  unchangeable  country  which  the  eye  of  the 
flesh  seeth  not,  where  dwelleth  God  in  all  His  fullness  and 
completeness.  The  Soul  drinks  long  and  deep  from  that 
cool  water  which  bursts  out  from  the  center  of  the  Rock, 


540  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

even  as  when  Moses  smote  the  Rock  with  his  rod  (symbol 
of  power  and  authority),  and  the  water  came  forth. 

It  matters  not,  dear  reader,  where  you  are ;  if  in  the 
wilderness,  the  valley,  or  near  the  mountain  top,  should 
you  require  water,  ask  of  God,  as  Moses  did,  and  God  will 
give  unto  your  need ;  but  it  is  well  to  remember  the  years 
of  servitude  and  the  great  sacrifice  which  Moses  was  re- 
quired to  make  before  he  was  close  enough  to  the  Infinite 
in  understanding  to  be  such  a  perfect  instrument  in  God's 
hands  for  receiving  what  himself  and  the  people  needed. 

If  in  the  king's  court  and  through  refusing  to  worship 
the  many  gods  of  this  world  you  are  placed  in  the  midst 
of  fiery  tests,  remember,  that  in  the  midst  of  the  severe 
heat  of  the  furnace  God  was!  and  delivered  them;  but 
they  had  made  many  sacrifices  and  had  learned  to  live 
close  to  God: — 0,  so  close,  that  they  prayed  to  God  and 
He  delivered. 

Our  God  is  one  God.  There  is  no  power  beside  Him ; 
and,  when  man  awakens  from  the  earth-illusion  and  per- 
ceives that  he  is  in  the  very  presence  of  the  Living  God, 
our  Loving  Father,  it  is  joy  so  great  that  one  can  scarcely 
contain  it.  The  Poet  has  quietly  woven  his  joy  into  verse, 
the  Artist  his  on  canvas  and  the  Saint,  his  in  Praises  and 
Thanksgiving. 

When  this  flash  of  Light  first  comes  into  man,  his 
emotions  are  stirred  within  him.  This  is  well  and  good ; 
but  there  comes  a  time  when,  fiirther  upon  the  Path, 
emotions  which  belong  to  the  carnal  man,  are  absorbed 
into  an  abiding  consciousness  of  man  as  he  is, — "The 
Image  of  God. ' '  With  his  abiding  place  in  the  very  cen- 
ter of  God,  man  walks  joyously  along  the  Path,  ever  con- 
scious that  God's  Sunlight  of  Love  overshadows  and  fills 
him.  He  is  then  so  conscious  of  the  joy  of  God's  Pres- 
ence, in  which  he  lives,  moves  and  has  his  being,  that  joy 
bursts  the  bounds  and  he  rests  in  ecstasy,  which  is  merged 
into  Bliss.    Man,  when  conscious  of  Perfect  Bliss,  is  at 


Joyously  Living  in  the  Sunlight  of  God's  Love    541 

Home  in  God.     In  the  Real  as  it  is,  man  is  forever  at 
Home  in  God. 

But  man,  having  forgotten  his  inheritance,  when  he 
begins  to  recover  his  memory,  necessarily,  must  work  out 
the  problem  from  the  place  where  he  begins  to  awaken ; 
and  sometimes  the  thread  of  life  has  become  so  ensnarled 
through  the  different  patterns  he  has  endeavored  to 
weave  upon  the  loom  of  Life,  that  it  requires  earnest 
endeavor  on  the  part  of  man  and  many  prayers  to  In- 
finite Love  and  the  assistance  of  teachers  who  have 
studied  deeply  the  Truth  and  traveled  far  upon  the 
Path  to  help  him  before  he  can  glean  light  sufficiently 
strong  to  light  him  into  the  joy  of  Living  in  the  Sunlight 
of  God's  Love. 

It  requires  study  and  earnest  living  each  day,  with  the 
eye  single,  when  man  enters  upon  the  Sacred  Path.  This 
is  the  Path  of  Spirituality,  and  it  leads  man  step  by  step 
from  the  carnal  concept  of  himself  and  his  sense-dream, 
to  the  conscious  Soul-Life. 

When  man  is  fully  aroused  from  the  Adam-Dream,  his 
Soul  has  restored  to  him, — to  his  individual  ego, — the 
consciousness  of  Life,  and  he  soon  learns  that  Life,  being 
Divine,  is  Eternal. 

For  man  to  understand  himself,  as  he  is,  when  he 
awakens  into  conscious  Life  in  his  four-fold  nature,  it  is 
necessary  he  study;  and,  if  he  will  ask  the  Father,  He, 
who  is  ever  present,  and  is  Love,  Wisdom  and  Power,  will 
guide  man  to  the  right  Teacher  or  the  correct  books 
which  are  best  for  him  at  that  time. 

In  the  joyousness  of  Living  in  God's  Love,  there  is  not, 
nor  can  there  be,  condemnation.  In  the  joy  of  the  Spirit, 
the  student-devotee  knows  that  all  books  are  not  written 
for  all  men,  but  all  books  are  written  for  some  men. 
Then,  without  prejudice  or  condemnation,  pass  out  the 
book  to  the  hungry  child  of  God,  as  the  Father  leads  you, 
because  He  ever  knoweth  which  crumb  from  His  Divine 


542  The  Flashlights  op  Truth 

Table  will  satisfy  the  little  one  who  is  at  that  time  cry- 
ing for  food  and  drink. 

Let  the  Essence  which  is  God — Love — Fill,  Thrill, 
Sustain,  Bless,  Guide  and  Surround  you  ever  more.  Then 
it  is,  man  is  Joyously  Living  in  the  Sunlight  of  God's 
Love. 


CHAPTER  VI 
PRACTICAL  DEDUCTIONS 

IN  the  message  of  Truth,  as  it  is  given  to  man  from 
the  Infinite,  our  Father-Mother,  there  is  a  sublime 
Presence  and  power  so  potent,  that  man,  from  any 
angle  he  may  approach  it,  gleans  according  to  his  desire 
and  degree  of  understanding. 

Some  there  have  been  all  down  the  ages  who  have, 
when  they  pierced  the  wall  of  their  cloistered  cell  and 
the  Light  of  God  became  manifest  to  their  awakened  con- 
cept, burst  forth  in  song;  and  many  and  beautiful  are 
the  songs  of  the  Soul  and  the  hymns  of  praise  to  God 
which  have  blessed  mankind. 

There  are  those  whom  the  Spirit  of  Truth  has  touched, 
and  they  have  become  conscious  of  Peace  and  desire  to 
retire  into  some  quiet  retreat,  to  there  live  in  conscious 
at-one-ment  with  God. 

There  are  some,  when  touched  by  the  quickening  power 
of  God  and  awakened  into  a  new  conception  of  Life,  who 
desire  to  ever  be  out  among  their  fellow  men,  that  they 
may  tell  them  of  this  wonderful  change  which  has  come  to 
them  to  make  new  and  to  bless.  Such  may  have  more 
zeal  than  understanding ;  however,  discourage  them  not ; 
for  they  will  be  taught  step  by  step,  and  it  is  their  prov- 
ince to  do  as  the  Spirit  of  Truth  leads  them.  Some  turn 
to  the  message  of  Truth  that  they  may  learn  the  way  and 
escape  that  place  of  torment,  the  imagination,  of  whose 
existance  has  been  permitted  to  creep  into  the  teachings 
of  the  old  dispensation. 

In  this  new  age,  now  at  the  dawn,  which  is  the  one 

543 


544  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

thousand-year  reign  of  Spirituality,  the  people  will  learn 
to  know  God  as  He  is  and  fear  will  be  eliminated  from 
the  mind  and  heart  of  man  as  he  moves  forward  in  this 
new  age  of  Spirituality. 

This  is  the  time  when  the  prophecies  are  being  fulfilled 
' '  And  old  things  are  passing  away  and  all  things  are  be- 
coming new. ' '  It  is  not  the  wrath  of  God  which  is  caus- 
ing this  to  be  so.  It  is  that  One  Law  which  operates  in 
unceasing  action  in  and  throughout  creation  (carnality), 
which  law  is  the  law  of  Cause  and  Effect, — '*As  a  man 
sows,  so  shall  he  also  reap."  If  a  man  sows  wheat,  he 
reaps  wheat ;  if  tares,  his  harvest  is  tares. 

Man  as  an  individual  reaps  and  sows,  and  he  continues 
to  reap  until  he  learns  his  lesson ;  and  then  he,  through 
"Knowing  the  Truth,*'  ceases  from  sowing  to  the  carnal 
life.  Then  his  harvest  will  become  Peace,  Harmony  and 
Contentment. 

The  Nations  are  only  a  collectivity  of  individuals,  and 
have  their  time  and  harvest.  When  the  selfishness  in  the 
hearts  and  minds  of  men,  massed  into  the  Nations,  have 
expressed  until  a  cloud  is  formed,  it  has  in  all  ages  of 
which  we  have  the  historic  record  become  so  dark  and 
lowering,  that  it  has  burst  into  flames  and  the  roar  of  the 
cannon  is  heard  in  the  land  and  the  nation  which  is  victo- 
rious thinks  it  has  achieved  great  honor  and  wealth. 

But  the  rain-drops  of  Love  have  and  will  refresh  the 
earth ;  and  nations,  like  the  individual,  pass  on  until  they 
come  to  the  ripening  cycle.  All  this  is  in  the  law  of  Cause 
and  Effect ;  and  man,  living  in  the  concept  of  the  carnal 
man,  as  the  Real  man,  and  his  life  as  the  Real  Life,  con- 
tinues to  tread  the  wine-press  of  experience  and  remains 
in  the  same  place  in  his  perception. 

Man  can  continue  to  live  in  the  illusive  dream  of  car- 
nality and  pass  around  and  around  the  Wheel  and  gain 
nothing.  How  can  a  man  achieve  anything  while  he  is 
asleep?  However,  the  awakening  comes  to  all  men,  and 
when  man  awakes  he  will  begin  to  seek  for  the  Light, 


Practical  Deductions  545 

which,  we  read  in  the  Bible,  "Is  that  Light  which  light- 
eth  every  man  who  cometh  into  the  world. ' ' 

Here  is  where  man  requires  the  practical  deductions 
of  the  Truth  that  he  may,  according  to  the  Light  which 
he  has  gleaned,  be  practical  in  his  study  of  the  message 
of  Truth. 

Has  it  dawned  upon  your  mind,  dear  reader,  that  the 
Truth  is  God  ?  and  that  God  is  all  there  really  is  ?  Thus 
it  is,  and  the  message,  which  the  Father  has  given  to  the 
children  of  earth  through  the  Holy  Scriptures,  is  the 
Whole  Truth.  We  will  reiterate  here  a  little,  that  you 
may  get  this  one  point  fixed  in  your  mind.  When  God 
caused  man  (all  men) — and  remember,  "male  and  female 
created  He  them" — to  become  manifest  in  the  dawn  of 
that  day  when  man  became  an  individualized  manifesta- 
tion of  the  Living  God,  Man  was  placed  in  Paradise,  the 
center  of  God,  and  dwelt  there  until  his  own  mind  chose 
a  change.  In  the  next  glimpse  which  the  Infinite  gives 
man  in  the  allegory  of  Genesis,  we  find  that  he  is  in  the 
Garden  of  Eden.  Man  had  begun  to  act  independently 
of  God,  and  he  soon  became  confused  and  passed  out 
from  that  high  state,  the  highest  the  earth-mind  can  con- 
ceive, further  into  the  mist  which  darkened  in  the  carnal 
mind. 

In  this  mist  each  and  every  man  works  at  his  own  prob- 
lem; and  as  long  as  any  one  is  entirely  sw^ayed  by  the 
carnal  mind,  he  looks  in  and  through  the  mist  but  does 
not  perceive  the  clear  Spiritual  atmosphere  which  is  just 
above  the  mist.  When  man  awakens,  he,  through  gaining 
the  Light  of  God,  will  finally  return  to  his  Father's 
House.  Then  he  has  wrought  out  his  destiny,  having 
traveled  the  circle  out  from  the  paradisiacal  state  and 
back  again. 

The  message  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  given  in  a  prac- 
tical way,  and  it  is  necessary  that  it  be  thus  given,  be- 
cause it  is  the  final  word  to  the  man  of  earth  who  has 


546  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

arrived  at  the  ripening  cycle  of  his  Soul.  The  ripening 
time  is  when  man  will  master  death. 

Up  to  the  finishing  cycle  for  each  man,  death  has  been 
the  victor  continuously ;  but  now,  when  he  arrives  at  his 
ripening  age,  man  can,  if  he  awakens  to  perceive  it  and 
gleans  the  Light  necessary,  arise  and  stand  a  master  over 
death. 

In  order  for  man  to  achieve  until  he  is  able  to  stand  a 
master  over  death,  the  last  and  greatest  enemy  to  man- 
kind (and  the  reason  death  is  the  greatest  enemy  to  man- 
kind is  because  it  is  so  mysterious)  he  will  find  it  neces- 
sary that  he  master  disease  and  all  inharmonies  which  the 
carnal  mind  can  present  to  him  until  he  is  the  master  of 
the  carnal  mind  (which  is  his  self-will)  to  lay  it  down  at 
the  Master's  feet,  there,  by  the  Divine  Wisdom,  to  be 
merged  into  the  God-mind. 

"When  there  is  only  one  mind  (the  mind  of  God)  oper- 
ating in  and  through  man,  there  will  be  no  more  sickness, 
inharmony  nor  confusion  in  that  student-devotee  who  has 
merged  his  mind  into  the  mind  of  God. 

However,  there  will  be  a  period  between  the  time  man's 
carnal  mind  is  merged  into  the  God-mind,  and  the  time 
that  the  individual  understands  just  how  to  remain  at  all 
times  perfect  en  rapport  with  the  Divine-Mind,  where  the 
minds  and  thoughts  of  others  can  effect  him.  Be  not  dis- 
couraged at  this,  but  cling  close  to  God  and  all  will  be 
well. 

Jesus  taught  that  man  must  know  the  Truth;  and  in 
the  Bible  we  find  promises  many  to  the  believer.  A  man 
may  believe  concerning  anything  and  sit  still  in  that 
belief  without  action  or  effort  and  achieve  very  little; 
yet,  man  must  believe  ere  he  arrives  at  the  knowing. 

Man  may  believe  that  God  can  and  will  heal  the  sick ; 
but,  if  man  makes  no  effort,  his  belief  remains  in  the  in- 
visible, unexpressed.  Not  being  spoken  into  prayer  either 
audibly  or  silently  *'it  dies  still-born,"  because  there  is 
no  life  expressed ;  but  the  man  who  not  only  believes  that 
God  can  and  does  heal  the  sick,  but  knows  that  God  does 


Practical  Deductions  547 

heal  them,  he,  knowing  the  Eternal  Action  of  God  and 
having  understanding  which  comes  by  knowing  the  Truth, 
will  speak  a  prayer  to  every  condition  of  error  which  he 
meets  upon  the  King's  Highway.  The  action  of  the 
spoken  word  or  prayer  passes  through  the  seeming  in- 
harmony  or  appearance  of  disease.  That  word,  being 
action,  touches  the  Eternal  Action  of  God  in  the  place 
where  the  expression  of  error  is  manifest  and  God's  Law 
of  Eternal  Action  causes  the  spoken  word  to  annihilate 
the  inharmony  with  the  Harmonious  Presence  of  the 
Eternal  God. 

Eemember,  God  is  everywhere;  but  when  sickness  ap- 
pears, in  the  midst  of  the  pain  and  fever,  man  does  not 
perceive  God's  presence  so  clearly. 

Annihilate  the  appearance,  by  prayer  to  God  at  all 
times  and  in  all  conditions,  knowing  ever  that  God  giveth 
the  increase.  We  read  in  the  Scriptures,  '  *  God  hath  an- 
swered before  man  calls." 

It  is  well  for  all  searchers  after  the  Eternal  Truth  to 
search  the  Scriptures,  both  Old  and  New.  If  they  do  this, 
they  will  find  abundant  promises  from  the  Infinite  to 
assure  man  that  the  Father  is  fully  alert  concerning  the 
children  of  earth  and  ever  ready  to  respond  to  their 
faintest  cry. 

Jesus  came  at  the  bidding  of  the  Father  to  give  the 
completeness  of  the  message  which  man  requires  when  he 
arrives  at  the  final  cycle  of  his  ongoing ;  and  Jesus  told 
them,  plainly,  that  they  must  know  the  Truth  ere  they 
could  reach  the  final  goal.  What  is  the  final  goal  ?  It  is 
Redemption,  full  and  complete.  Does  that  mean  a  home 
in  the  skies  by  and  by  ?  Verily  not.  It  is  man 's  return 
to  his  Father's  House — Paradise — clothed  upon  with  his 
Spirit-Body,  he  having,  through  knowing  the  Truth, 
passed  from  the  personal  concept  of  himself  into  the  per- 
ception of  his  individuality  which  has  always  been  the 
Divine  Man;  and  when  the  personal  is  absorbed  by  and 


548  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

through  understanding  and  achieving  and  by  the  assist- 
ance of  Jesus  Christ  and  His  ministering  angels,  in  the 
grace  of  God  unto  the  individual,  man  has  returned  to 
his  Father 's  House.  When  man  has  become  clothed  upon 
with  the  robe  of  righteousness,  his  Spiritual  Body,  his 
Father  places  a  ring  upon  his  hand.  Then  the  conscious- 
ness of  man  becomes  complete.  He,  having  learned  the 
Truth  concerning  his  Real  Self,  has  wrought  it  out  into 
expression  and  knows  God  as  He  is.  With  the  ring  upon 
his  hand,  he  is  conscious  of  his  at-one-ness  with  the 
Father. 

Is  this  too  high  a  standard  to  set  before  man  ?  It  cer- 
tainly is  not.  If  it  were  thus,  Jesus  Christ  would  not 
have  taught  it;  neither  solved  the  whole  problem,  meet- 
ing and  mastering  every  law  of  carnality  which  holds 
man  in  its  chains  until  he  ''Knows  the  Truth."  This 
does  not  refer  to  the  intellectual  perception  alone. 
While  the  knowing  operates  in  and  through  the  intellect, 
to  know  the  Truth  in  its  fullness,  man's  whole  being  in 
its  four-fold  nature  knows,  and  his  body  becomes  the 
transfigured  and  glorified  body,  his  mind,  the  illumined 
and  truth-thinking  mind,  his  Spirit  quickened  into  con- 
sciousness and  his  Soul  expressing  conscious  Life  for- 
ever more.  Then  is  man,  in  conscious  understanding  and 
expression,  a  manifestation  of  the  Living  God.  Then  he 
lives  in  the  liberty  of  the  Son  of  God.  What  constitutes 
this  liberty?  Conscious  illumination  unto  full  God-con- 
sciousness, unto  Freedom  Divine. 

In  knowing  the  Truth  into  expression,  in  and  through 
himself,  man  becomes  a  master  over  disease,  pain,  sorrow, 
inharmony,  lack  and  death.  He,  also,  from  that  state  of 
concept  can  assist  his  brothers  and  sisters  who  are  still 
in  bondage  to  the  King  of  this  world. 

Jesus  Christ  expressed  the  consciousness  of  the  Son  of 
God,  and  we  have  His  life.  His  example  and  His  teach- 
ings as  our  guide,  and  He  said,  ' '  Follow  thou  me. ' '  He 
did  not  call  thus  to  the  man  who  was  at  that  time  sound 
asleep  in  the  carnal  dream.    He  thus  spake  to  the  awak- 


Practical  Deductions  549 

ened  man,  His  disciples.  All  student-devoteees  are  the 
disciples  of  Truth,  and  Jesus  Christ  is  their  Elder 
Brother. 

Jesus,  speaking  from  His  conscious  Sonship  said,  ''I 
am  the  Way,  the  Truth  and  the  Light,''  and  ''The  Father 
and  I  are  One."  Then,  when  He  looked  into  the  family 
of  men,  living  in  carnality  and  seeing  how  they  were 
weighted  down  with  their  burdens  of  care,  anxiety,  fear 
and  confusion.  He  said,  ' '  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor 
and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest,"  ''My  yoke 
is  easy  and  my  burden  is  light."  Jesus  said  to  Martha, 
"I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life;  he  that  believeth  in 
me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live:"  St.  John 
11:25. 

"And  whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall  never 
die.    Believest  thou  this?"    St.  John  11:26. 

At  another  time  the  Jews  questioned  Jesus  and  said, 
"Then  came  the  Jews  around  about  him,  and  said  unto 
him,  how  long  doeth  thou  make  us  to  doubt  ?  If  thou  be 
the  Christ,  tell  us  plainly."    St.  John  10:24. 

"Jesus  answered  them,  I  told  you,  and  ye  believed  not ; 
the  works  that  I  do  in  my  Father's  name,  they  bear  wit- 
ness of  me."    St.  John  10:25. 

"But  ye  believe  not,  because  ye  are  not  of  my  sheep, 
as  I  said  unto  you."    St.  John  10:26. 

"My  sheep  hear  my  voice,  and  know  them,  and  they 
follow  me : "    St.  John  10 :27. 

' '  And  I  give  unto  them  eternal  life ;  and  they  shall 
never  perish,  neither  shall  any  man  pluck  them  out  of  my 
hand."    St.  John  10:28. 

"My  Father,  which  giveth  them  me,  is  greater  than 
all ;  and  no  man  is  able  to  pluck  them  out  of  my  Father 's 
hand."    St.  John  10:29. 

"I  and  my  Father  are  one."  .St.  John  10:30. 


550  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

''Jesus  answered  them,  many  good  works  have  I 
showed  from  my  Father ;  for  which  of  those  works  do  ye 
stone  me  ? ' '    St.  John  10 :32. 

Isaiah,  a  prophet  of  God,  wrote,  ' '  Comfort  ye,  my  peo- 
ple, saith  your  God/^    Is.  40:1. 

**The  voice  of  him  that  cryeth  in  the  wilderness,  pre- 
pare ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  straight  in  the  desert 
a  highway  for  our  God. ' '    Is.  40 :3. 

''Every  valley  shall  be  exalted,  and  every  mountain 
and  hill  shall  be  made  low,  and  the  crooked  shall  be  made 
straight,  and  the  rough  places  plain :  * '    Is.  40 :4. 

"And  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  revealed,  and  all 
flesh  shall  see  it  together :  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath 
spoken  it."    Is.  40:5. 

' '  For  the  Lord  is  our  judge,  the  Lord  is  our  law-giver, 
the  Lord  is  our  King ;  he  will  save  us.  * '     Is.  33 :22. 

"And  the  inhabitants  shall  not  say,  I  am  sick :  the  peo- 
ple that  dwell  therein  shall  be  forgiven  their  iniquity." 
75.  33:24. 

"And  an  highway  shall  be  there,  and  a  way,  and  it 
shall  be  called  the  way  of  holiness ;  the  unclean  shall  not 
pass  over  it ;  but  it  shall  be  for  those :  the  wayfaring  men, 
though  fools,  shall  not  err  therein."    Is.  35:8. 

"No  lion  shall  be  there,  nor  any  ravenous  beast  shall 
go  up  thereon,  it  shall  not  be  found  there:  but  the  re- 
deemed shall  walk  there."    Is.  35:9. 

Centuries  after  Isaiah  wrote  these  inspired  words, 
Jesus  came  to  earth  and  taught  that  same  Truth  and 
how  to  understand  it ;  and  showed  ,  by  His  example,  how 
to  work  out  unto  its  final  solution,  the  problem  of  being. 
The  Truth  may  be  wrought  out  in  man,  as  it  was  shown 
by  Jesus'  example  at  the  tomb  in  the  ressurrection  and 
in  the  ascension. 

"Jesus  cried  and  said,  he  that  believeth  on  me,  believ- 
eth  not  on  me,  but  on  Him  that  sent  me."  St.  John  12:44. 

' '  I  am  come  a  light  into  the  world,  that  whosoever  be- 


Practical  Deductions  551 

lieveth  on  me,  shall  not  abide  in  darkness."  St.  John 
12:46. 

''For  I  have  not  spoken  of  myself;  but  the  Father 
which  sent  me,  He  gave  me  a  commandment  what  I 
should  say,  and  what  I  should  speak."    St.  John  12:49. 

''And  I  know  that  His  commandment  is  Life  everlast- 
ing; whatsoever  I  speak,  therefore,  even  as  the  Father 
saith  unto  me,  so  I  speak."    St.  John  12:50. 

"Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  he  that  believeth  on 
me,  the  works  that  I  do,  shall  he  do  also;  and  greater 
works  than  these  shall  he  do;  because  I  go  unto  my 
Father."  .St.  John  14:12. 

"If  ye  ask  anything  in  my  name,  I  will  do  it."  St. 
John  14:14. 

"If  ye  love  me,  keep  my  commandments."  St.  John 
14:15. 

Glean  the  Truth,  dear  reader,  and  place  the  practical 
deductions  together  and  they  will  prove  the  message  of 
Truth,  which  comes  from  the  Father  to  the  children  of 
men  to  be  true.  Then  you  will  be  enabled  to  work  out 
your  own  problem  unto  its  final  solution,  and  to  stand 
a  Eedeemed  Son  of  the  Living  God,  at  Home  in  the  para- 
disiacal state,  in  illumination  full  and  complete. 


CHAPTER  VII 

RENUNCIATION 

JESUS  said:  *'No  man  can  serve  two  masters;  for 
either  he  will  hate  the  one,  and  love  the  other;  or 
else  he  will  hold  to  the  one,  and  despise  the  other. 
Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  Mammon."    Matthew  6:24. 

If  a  man  is  living  in  the  world  and  enjoying  the  pleas- 
ures of  the  world,  his  heart  is  there  and  he  loves  not  God, 
the  giver  of  all  good.  He  renounces  all  that  pertains  to 
Spirituality;  and  the  abiding  peace  and  faith  of  the 
Saint  he  does  not  know.  This  is  renunciation;  but  he 
has  made  it  on  the  path,  which  winds  its  way  through  the 
illusive  forest  of  human  experience  where  there  is  noth- 
ing permanent. 

The  Renunciation,  of  which  the  Sages  of  all  ages  have 
taught  and  endeavored  to  obtain,  is  on  the  Sacred  Path, 
which  is  straight  and  narrow,  and  where  the  love  of  the 
world  Cannot  enter. 

Renunciation  is  an  initiation,  which  the  student- 
devotee  will  enter  and  pass  through  victoriously  before 
he  has  arrived  at  that  state  of  conscious  illumination 
where  he  stands,  here  upon  the  earth  among  the  men  of 
earth  as  Jesus  did,  a  conscious  redeemed  Son  of  God. 

We  read  in  Holy  Writ  that  flesh  and  blood  cannot 
enter  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven ;  so  we  see  that  personality 
must  be  merged  into  individuality,  when  the  blood  veins 
are  channels  for  the  river  of  life  to  flow  unceasingly 
through.  Catch  this,  0  mortal  man,  and  the  circulation 
of  the  blood  in  your  mortal  body  will  be  quickened;  so 
vital  a  truth  it  is. 

552 


Renunciation  553 

Man  cannot  take  gold  into  that  place  of  the  quickening 
of  the  body.  St.  Paul  says :  '  *  For  the  love  of  money  is 
the  root  of  all  evil ;  which  while  some  coveted  after,  they 
have  erred  from  the  faith,  and  pierced  themselves  through 
with  many  sorrows."     /  Timothy  6:10. 

Renunciation  comes  here  upon  this  plane.  Jesus  said : 
*  *  Lay  up  for  yourselves  treasures  in  heaven ;  where  moth 
and  rust  doth  not  corrupt  and  where  thieves  do  not  break 
through  and  steal."  This  does  not  refer  to  a  place  far 
away,  but  to  man^s  own  concept  in  understanding;  and 
man  has  arrived  at  that  place,  when  he  has  awakened 
and  "Knows  the  Truth."  The  locality  in  which  man's 
body  is  has  nothing  to  do  with  it ;  the  change  takes  place 
in  man. 

In  all  the  ongoings  of  man,  from  his  awakening  to  his 
full  illumination  and  final  redemption,  there  are  no 
changes  necessary  except  in  man  himself.  When  there 
have  sufficient  changes  taken  place,  man  arrives  at  the 
initiation  where  the  Holy  Spirit  begins  to  whisper  Re- 
nunciation, which  it  is  then  well  for  man  to  heed  and 
look  into  the  subject. 

As  long  as  man  believes  his  happiness  depends  upon 
the  friendly  greeting  of  his  fellow  men,  which  are  so 
numerous  to  the  man  of  wealth,  he  has  no  thought  of  the 
renunciation  of  his  wealth.  However,  if  he  desires  to 
walk  upon  the  Sacred  Path,  as  it  nears  the  summit  of  the 
Mountain  of  Truth,  he  will  find  it  necessary  that  he  re- 
nounce his  wealth.  This  does  not  for  one  moment  mean 
that  man  must  give  his  wealth  away  and  become  a  de- 
pendent upon  his  fellow  man, — not  that ;  but  it  must  be 
wrought  out  within  himself,  and,  when  man  has  re- 
nounced the  worldly  influence  which  comes  with  the  pos- 
session of  wealth,  the  gold  is  harmless. 

When  the  disciples  told  Jesus  that  His  mother  and 
brothers  were  waiting  outside  for  Him,  he  looked  around 
upon  the  people  and  said :    *' Who  is  my  mother  or  sister 


554  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

or  brother;  but  those  who  do  the  Will  of  God."  He 
there  renouncing  the  human  tie,  but  acknowledging  the 
tie  of  Spirit, — the  tie  of  Spiritual  Life,  of  which  we,  one 
and  all,  are  individual  manifestations. 

The  illumined  man  renounces  disease,  old  age,  poverty 
and  death.  He,  in  so  doing,  steps  into  the  very  heart  of 
God,  the  center  of  the  Lotus  where  Jesus  Christ  ever 
walks  with  that  effulgent  robe  which  the -fleshly  eye  of 
man  cannot  discern,  and  welcomes  the  student-devotee 
who  has  arrived  at  the  place  where,  in  and  through  un- 
derstanding, he  turns  away  from  the  carnal  concept  of 
life,  and  steps  alone  upon  the  Sacred  Path.  In  such 
faithful  obedience,  lovingly  he  knows  that  the  Father's 
everlasting  arm  enfolds  him  and  His  mantle  of  Love 
covers  him  and  that  the  Father  will  place  that  ring,  the 
symbol  of  unity,  upon  his  hand;  and  that  from  out  the 
silent  chamber  of  the  Infinite-Silence  he  will  hear  the 
glad  words,  ''Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  son, 
enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  the  Lord. ' '  Then  the  anthems 
of  heaven  will  peal  forth  from  out  the  vastness  of  Infin- 
ity and  the  Heavenly  Hosts  will  sing,  "Glory  to  God  in 
the  highest,  and  on  earth,  peace  and  good  will  to  man." 

Sing  a  glad  song,  0  my  Soul ;  for  the  day  of  redemp- 
tion draweth  near  and  many  of  earth's  little  ones  will 
hear  the  welcome  words  from  out  the  Infinite  Silence, — 
"All  is  well!  All  is  well!"  and  the  Lullaby  of  the  In- 
finite will  ever  whisper  soft  and  low ;  for  every  string  of 
the  Infinite  Harp  is  in  perfect  tune,  and  he  who  becomes 
in  tune  therewith  laves  in  divine  content  in  the  green 
fields  of  Paradise.  The  flowers  are  ever  fair,  the  water 
cool  and  refreshing.  The  Tree  of  Life  is  there ;  and  man 
has,  through  intelligent  Renunciation,  attained  unto 
Divine  Satisfaction, — Man's  inheritance.  Then  he 
dwells,  a  conscious  Son  of  God  in  expression,  here  upon 
earth,  here  and  now;  and,  as  he  expands  into  a  deeper 
concept  of  the  Cosmic- Consciousness,  he,  in  humility,  gen- 
tleness, brotherly  kindness  and  sincerity,  will  walk  among 
the  children  of  earth,  a  blessing  to  mankind. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  CONCLUSION 

GOD  is  Omnipresent,  Omnipotent  and  Omniscient. 
How  do  we  know  this  to  be  true  ?  Because  it  has 
been  proven  so  to  be  by  many  of  the  student- 
devotees  of  earth  and  by  the  Sages  and  Saviours  of  all 
Ages. 

If  God  is  Life  and  He  fills  all  space,  where  is  there  any 
place  for  death  ?  If  God  is  Light  and  fills  all  space,  where 
can  darkness  dwell?  If  God  is  Love  and  fills  all  space, 
where  is  there  any  place  for  hate  ?  If  God  is  Good,  and 
fills  all  space,  where  can  we  find  evil  1 

If  God  is  that  perfect  Harmony  which  is  vibrant  with 
the  rhythm  of  the  Harp  of  many  strings,  where  the  music 
of  the  Spheres  is  ever  melodious,  clear  and  perfect ;  where 
can  we  find,  even  one  niche,  where  the  discordant  note 
can  sound? 

If  God  is  all  Power,  all  Presence  and  all  Knowing,  all 
Life,  all  Love,  all  Light  and  all  Harmony,  where  can  the 
opposite  appearance  dwell  ?  It  does  not  dwell ;  it  has  no 
abiding  place. 

None  would  say, ' '  where  does  the  thunder  cloud  dwell ; 
or  where  the  powerful  rumbling  cyclone,"  because  all 
know  that  they  have  no  permanent  dwelling  place. 

Even  of  the  beautiful,  soft  and  fleecy  clouds  that  move 
so  gracefully  along  in  the  atmosphere  with  their  gauzy 
veil,  obscuring  the  deep  blue  sky  on  a  June  day,  none  ask 
where  these  dwell,  because  they  all  know  that  they  are 
accumulations  of  mist  and  will  pass  as  gracefully  away 
as  they  came;  but  the  blue  vault,  the  dome,  which  God 

555 


556  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

hath  built,  is  forever  and  forever  thus ;  and,  stray  where 
man  will,  yea,  to  the  ice-bound  north;  or  to  the  sunny 
south,  where  the  tropical  clime  is  symbolical  of  Paradise, 
where  the  flowers  bloom  continually  and  the  fronded 
palms,  the  pomegranate,  olive  and  fig  grow  and  the  birds 
sing  continually ; — and  there  above  him  is  the  blue  vault 
still.  If  man  on  pinions  of  power  could  go  from  planet  to 
planet,  yea,  from  systems  of  planets  to  systems  of  planets, 
he  could  never  stray  from  the  deep  blue  dome  of  heaven. 
We  say  *Hhe  Dome  of  Heaven,'*  not  that  it  is  that  far 
away  land  where  the  departed  loved  ones  dwell ;  but  be- 
cause it  is  Harmony  so  complete  that  it  is  never  touched 
nor  disturbed  by  the  inharmony  of  mankind,  which  lives 
in  the  chaos  of  carnality. 

This  we  will  consider  for  a  few  moments. 

All  the  inharmony,  unrest,  dissatisfaction,  confusion, 
lack,  disease  and  death  there  is  in  all  the  vast  univeise,  is 
in  carnality ;  which  is  the  mist  arising  from  the  marshes 
and  swamps  of  the  senses,  darkened  with  self-love  and 
self -sense.  We  read  in  Genesis  '*A  mist  arose."  Man 
can  become  free  from  that  mist  by  doing  as  Jesus  taught 
when  He  said,  ''Ye  shall  know  the  Truth,  and  the  Truth 
shall  make  you  free."  Man  is  to  learn  the  Truth  here 
upon  the  earth,  and  not  in  some  other  clime.  Man,  living 
upon  the  earth  and  knowing  the  Truth,  has  the  eye  of 
vision  and  perceives  that  the  mist  which  envelopes 
humanity  so  closely  that  it  has  lost  its  way,  is  a  vapory 
illusion. 

When  man  has  the  full  understanding  of  the  message 
of  the  Christ  and  has  wrought  it  out  within  himself  unto 
the  outer  expression  of  himself,  he  sees  this  mist  disap- 
pear from  around  him,  just  as  one  sees  the  soft,  fleecy 
clouds  on  a  June-day  blown  away  by  the  summer  wind. 
What  remains  when  these  clouds  have  passed  from  sight  ? 
The  deep  blue  dome  of  heaven ;  and,  in  the  center  thereof, 
the  sun  shines  in  its  silent  brilliancy. 


The  Conclusion  557 

When  the  clouds  have  disappeared,  all  that  pertains  to 
them  passes  from  sight. 

Thus  man  stands,  when  he  has  become  fully  illumined 
into  conscious  Sonship, — in  the  midst  of  Eternal  Har- 
mony, where  all  living  things  are  expressing  it. 

Where  is  the  place  in  which  all  those  expressions  which 
are  opposite  to  our  Loving  God  can  dwell  ?  They  have  no 
abiding  place.  The  whole  web  of  carnality  is  as  floating 
clouds  and  shifting  sands,  because  it  has  no  creator. 
That  which  has  woven  and  is  still  weaving  the  web  of 
carnality  (the  mist)  is  carnal  mind  in  man  which  is 
formed  of  confusion  and  whose  foundation  is  selfishness 
in  man. 

Taking  the  final  deductions  of  Truth,  as  it  has  been 
given  to  man  by  the  Infinite,  our  Father,  through  the 
Scripture  from  Genesis  to  Revelation  and  in  the  Sacred 
Bibles  of  earlier  times,  we,  following  the  inner,  the  Spir- 
itual thread  of  our  Father's  message  to  us,  perceive  that 
God  has  no  part  in  forming  carnality  or  the  mist  which 
envelopes  it;  any  more  than  the  deep  blue  dome  has  a 
part  in  forming  the  fleecy  clouds  or  thunder  storms  which 
hover  near  the  earth's  surface. 

One  by  one  man  became  confused  by  his  self-will,  be- 
ginning to  operate  within  him,  and  passed  from  the  har- 
monious and  blissful  state  of  consciousness  into  a  discord- 
ant state;  and  man's  environment  outpictures  his  mind. 

Carnality  is  the  place  where  all  men  live  as  long  as  the 
state  of  confusion  reigns  in  his  mentality.  One  by  one 
man  will  awaken,  learn  the  Truth  and  walk  out  from  the 
mist,  by  causing  the  confused  beliefs  which  formed  his 
carnal  mind  to  be  consumed  by  the  Power  of  God,  as 
through  understanding  he  lays  the  Self-will  upon  the 
altar  of  God's  consuming  fire.  Then  man  has  nothing 
to  do  with  his  Self-will.  He  has  accomplished  that  which 
is  decreed.  The  Free-will,  being  all  that  man  has,  when 
he  arrives  at  the  portal  of  the  illumination  of  Eternity, 
it  is  merged  into  the  Infinite-Will,  because  in  the  Eternal 


558  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Presence  of  the  Eternal  God  there  is  but  One  Mind  in 
operation ;  and  man  to,  in  understanding,  consciously  live 
in  the  Blue  Dome  of  Harmony  above  the  mists  of  earth, 
can  have  no  mind  in  him  but  the  one  God-Mind,  which 
was  and  is  the  mind  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Conscious  Son  of 
God.  When  man  has  thus  achieved,  he  can  truly  say,  ' '  I 
and  the  Father  are  one. ' ' 

In  that  illuminated  state  of  perfect  understanding, 
man  is  above  sickness,  poverty  and  death. 

However,  many  and  varied  are  the  experiences  of  the 
student-devotee  from  the  time  he  hears  the  voice  calling, 
**Adam  where  are  thouT'  until  he  stands  clothed  in  his 
right  mind,  the  mind  of  God. 

The  Sacred  Path  is  straight  and  narrow  and  man  will 
encounter  rough  and  stony  places  as  he  moves  along  on 
his  journey  from  the  carnal  man^s  concept  of  himself  to 
the  Divine  Concept  of  himself  as  God  has  created  and  ex- 
pressed him, — the  Divine  Man,  or  God  made  manifest. 

None  should  ever  become  discouraged  when  any  of  the 
expressions  of  the  carnal  man  present  themselves  to  him 
for  recognition  after  he  has  stepped  upon  the  Sacred 
Path,  but  recognize  each  unpleasant  experience  as  a  test 
of  his  courage,  his  love  of  Truth  and  faith  in  God,  and 
turn  more  determinedly  to  the  center  of  the  Sacred  Path, 
ever  knowing  that  God  is  able  and  willing  to  heal  all  your 
infirmities,  to  supply  all  your  needs,  and  that  He  * '  Hears, 
even  before  you  call. '  * 

There  should  be  no  criticism  nor  condemnation  in  the 
mind  of  any  student-devotee  of  another  student  of  the 
Truth,  when  they  see  him  meeting  the  obstacles  which  the 
carnal  mind  (the  adversary)  ever  persents  to  each  and 
all.  Though  many  return  to  the  carnal  life  again,  even 
though  the  Teacher  is  sometimes  overtaken  with  the 
mists  (the  illusive  beliefs  of  carnality),  be  not  dismayed, 
because  none  have  finished  his  problem,  even  though  a 
great  Sage  or  Teacher,  until  he  stands  Redeemed.    But 


The  Conclusion  559 

let  the  student-devotee,  when  he  sees  his  fellow  students 
or  Teachers  in  the  midst  of  unpleasant  experiences,  ever 
in  tender  compassion  voice  a  prayer  to  Almighty  God 
that  He  will  assist  those  who  are  endeavoring  to  become 
free  from  the  Web  of  Carnality. 

All  who  have  awakened  to  the  teaching  which  is  given 
to  man  as  he  lives  in  the  Third  Dispensation  should  (and 
will  in  time)  let  their  minds  become  so  filled  with  the 
God-Mind,  that  they  expand  beyond  the  border-line  of 
man-made  creeds  and  church  by-laws,  because  in  the  In- 
finite Universe,  the  Father's  House  which  He  has  pre- 
pared for  all  His  children,  there  is  no  organized  creed. 

It  is  Universal  Brotherhood  forever  and  forever;  and 
each  and  every  man  fills  his  place  in  contentment  and 
love ;  and  none  asketh  who  is  high  or  who  is  low ;  all  know 
that  they  are  in  the  place  where  Infinite  Intelligence  has 
placed  them.  All  in  that  state  of  understanding  should 
gladly,  lovingly  and  appreciatively  give  each  other  a 
cordial  hand  clasp,  even  though  they  are  in  schools  which 
seem  to  differ  in  their  methods  of  teaching  the  blessed 
Truth,  ever  knowing  that  methods  have  nothing  to  do 
with  Truth;  that  they  are  only  used  for  man's  benefit, 
that  he  may  attain  unto  the  Light. 

All  illumined  ones  know  that  the  Truth  is  ever  one  and 
the  same.  When  all  men  are  fully  illumined  there  will 
be  no  walls  of  partitions,  or  fences  of  defense,  for,  lo, 
it  will  be  that  glorious  state  where  Love  reigns  supreme. 
Isaiah  caught  a  vision  of  that  time  when  he  said,  "The 
lamb  and  the  lion  shall  lie  down  together,  and  a  little 
child  shall  lead  them. ' ' 

There  will  be  no  animal  nature  in  man,  when  he, 
through  laying  his  Self-will  upon  the  altar,  has  but  one 
mind  in  him;  then  he  has  nothing  of  cunning  deception 
or  conceited  bigotry  in  him,  but  only  the  clean,  pure, 
loving,  faithful  and  trusting  mind  of  the  little  child. 
This  is  man's  destiny;  and,  attain  unto  it  he  will;  one 
and  all! 


560  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

It  is  in  man's  own  province  to  loiter  away  years  by  liv- 
ing in  the  mist  of  earth,  if  he  chooses,  because  here  is 
where  man  is  in  possession  of  his  self-will.  However,  he 
gains  nothing,  as  what  has  a  child  gained  when  he  suc- 
ceeds in  clasping  the  sparkling  soap-bubble  in  his  hand  ? 

Just  so  it  is  with  the  fleeting  things  of  carnality.  The 
Web  of  Carnality  is  composed  of  the  illusions  which  form 
the  will-o'-the-wisp;  and  every  man  is  pursuing  that  illu- 
sive false  light  while  he  is  controlled  by  the  carnal  mind. 

But  when  man  ''Knows  the  Truth"  he  perceives  that 
time  belongs  in  the  mist  of  earth.  Then,  through  gaining 
understanding,  he  arises  in  conscious  realization  above 
the  mist  of  carnality  and  lives  close  to  the  blue  dome  and 
knows,  that  in  the  vast  blue  vault  above  him  Eternity  is 
expressed.  In  the  unchangeableness  of  all  that  abides 
there,  men  walk  the  streets  of  that  Holy  City  which  lieth 
four  square  upon  the  Holy  Mountain,  "Mount  Zion;" 
and  the  New  Jerusalem  ever  comes  down  from  Heaven. 

Let  us  give  a  picture  of  the  earth  as  it  appears  to  the 
man  who  awoke  and  heard  the  Father's  call,  "Adam, 
where  art  thou?"  who  then  arose  and  started  upon  the 
Sacred  Path  and  mastered  every  unpleasant  experience 
which  he  encountered  and  passed  on  unto  the  initiation 
where  renunciation  was  inevitable,  and  then  passed  into 
the  illumination  where  he  lives  joyously  in  the  sunlight 
of  God's  Love,  and,  as  a  little  child,  trusts  in  the  Loving 
Care  of  his  Heavenly  Father-Mother-God. 

The  earth  is  covered  with  the  mantle  of  Beauty  and  he 
sees  the  smile  of  his  Loving  Father  which  the  flowers  ex- 
press, and  he  appreciates  the  smile  of  God,  which  is  just 
behind  the  daisy  and  all  the  common  flowers  which  grow 
along  the  roadside, — as  much  behind  these  as  behind  the 
rose  or  orchid, — knowing  that  they  are  expressions  of 
God  in  different  forms, — that  is  all ;  and  he  perceives  that 
it  is  not  for  him  to  discriminate,  but  to  appreciate. 


The  Conclusion  561 

The  earth  is  covered  with  the  mantle  of  nature  and 
meadows  are  green  with  blue-grass  and  clover;  the  pas- 
tures abound  with  herds  and  flocks,  and  he  sees  the  ' '  Cat- 
tle on  a  thousand  hills. ' '  The  fields  are  yellow  with  the 
golden  grain,  and  man  is  to  gather  the  abundant  harvest. 

The  animals  of  the  plains  and  jungles  are  peaceful  and 
content.  The  birds  ever  sing  their  greeting  to  that  in- 
visible presence,  which  is  God. 

The  snake  is  no  longer  an  enemy,  because  man,  having 
passed  out  from  the  carnal  illusions,  there  is  no  enmity 
between  man  and  the  serpent;  therefore,  they  have  the 
kindly  greeting,  which  reveals  to  them  that  there  is 
room  for  all.  All  is  contentment,  all  is  peace  and  broth- 
erly kindness;  and  man  lives  in  gentle  contentment  in 
this  beautiful  world. 

The  highest  joy  that  can  come  to  man  in  that  state  is  to 
assist  his  brothers  to  the  same  abiding  understanding 
which  he  has. 

When  the  Father  uses  one  of  His  holy  ones,  who  has 
arrived  at  this  place,  he,  in  joyous  gratitude,  goes  forth 
among  his  fellow  men,  giving  the  message  of  Truth,  as 
the  Holy  Spirit  of  Truth,  the  Father-Mother,  reveals  it 
to  him,  and  goes  about  ministering  to  God's  little  ones, 
as  the  Father  leads  him.  May  the  children  of  earth 
awaken  and  appreciate  these  instruments  of  God,  that 
the  men  of  earth  may  become  enlightened,  healed,  blessed 
and  lead  out  from  the  forest  of  illusion  into  the  green 
fields  and  live  in  the  conscious  presence  of  God's  Eternal 
Love. 

Come  unto  the  marriage  feast,  0  children  of  earth. 
The  Master  will  be  there,  and  He  will  turn  the  water  of 
the  carnal  mind  into  the  wine  of  inspiratfon.  Then  drink 
long  and  deep  of  that  wine  (inspiration)  until  you  have 
been  sufficiently  inspired  by  the  Father,  that  you  may 
walk  upon  the  highway  of  our  God,  wliere  the  illusions  of 
the  carnal  mind  cannot  deceive,  or  ensnare  you  evermore. 

The  ''Peace  that  passeth  understanding"  is  then  your 


562  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

portion,  which  the  Father  bestows  upon  you;  and  your 
mantle  of  righteousness,  which  the  Father  has  given  you, 
is  your  redeemed  and  glorified  body.  Man,  to  achieve 
unto  the  fullness  of  the  instructions  in  the  Message  of 
Jesus  Christ,  can  thus  do  and  be  here  upon  earth  without 
passing  through   death. 

Death  hinders  man.  Therefore,  each  death  man  passes 
through  only  causes  a  long  delay  in  his  ongoings  in  the 
general  way  toward  final  Redemption.  All  men  will  some 
day  stand  before  God,  Redeemed  sons  of  God. 

The  parable  of  the  Prodigal  son  spoken  by  Jesus  por- 
trays this  clearly. 

Then  brothers  and  sisters.  Sons  of  our  Father-Mother, 
the  Living  God,  falter  not !  Neither  waver  in  your  faith, 
should  you  see  the  mist  of  earth  gather  around  you,  and 
in  any  guise  approach  you.  If  it  is  disease,  arise,  and 
speak  the  prayer,  with  faith  in  God,  and  always  know 
that  God  responds  just  as  the  water  ever  fills  the  vacuum, 
wherefrom  the  pail  of  water  is  taken.  Should  you  some- 
times not  see  this  result  come  into  evidence  in  the  objec- 
tive, be  not  even  then  discouraged ;  but  always  know  that 
God  is  able  and  willing :  but,  there  is  necessity  for  more 
prayer  and  fasting,  and  living  closer  to  God.  Ask  of  the 
Father !  and  be  still  in  that  silent  chamber  of  your  own 
Soul,  where  you  know  you  are  at-one  with  the  Silence  of 
God's  Great  Being,  and  He  may  reveal  to  you  the  cause 
in  the  delay  in  healing.  Tremble  not  before  any  calam- 
ity ;  but  turn  to  the  Living  God  and  voice  that  same  con- 
fident and  Loving  Prayer  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Then  leave  it  in  the  hands  of  Infinite  Love  and  He  will 
bring  it  to  pass  in  the  way  that  is  right  and  best. 

It  is  well  for  the  student-devotee,  if  he  meets  experi- 
ences which  are  unpleasant  and  difficult,  to  first  place 
them  where  they  belong,  and  that  is  in  the  mist,  and 
always  know  that  God  is  in  the  Blue,  Unchangeable,  Har- 
monious Dome,  just  above  the  mists  of  earth;  and  it  is 
well  that  the  student-devotee  ask  that  good  come  out  of 


The  Conclusion  563 

every  experience,  not  to  himself  only,  but  to  all  con- 
cerned: and,  should  there  seem  to  be  enemies,  he,  if  in 
the  Christ-Consciousness,  will  ask  that  good  come  to  the 
seeming  enemies.  Then  when  the  cloud  is  dispersed  and 
the  sunlight  of  God  has  pierced  the  darkness  and  the  rift 
widens,  man  will  perceive  that  there  are  no  enemies. 

How  can  brothers,  their  Father  being  the  One  God  and 
His  House  their  Home,  His  hand  supplying  their  table 
with  bounty, — how  can  these,  God's  beloved  children,  be 
enemies  to  each  other  ?  They  truly  cannot  and  will  not 
be  when  they  ''Know  the  Truth." 

Learn  the  Truth,  dear  brothers  and  sisters,  and  become 
conscious  sons  of  the  Living  God,  Free  in  the  understand- 
ing of  the  Freedom  of  Spirit  Divine. 

Man  thus  equipped  will  ever  be  a  law-abiding  citizen, 

remembering  that  Jesus  taught,  "Render  unto   Caesar 

the  things  that  are  Caesar's  and  unto  God  those  things 

that  are  God's." 

#     *     * 

Come  unto  the  fountain  of  Love  Divine 
And  drink  of  the  refreshing  water. 
There  is  healing  and  strength  for  the  afflicted. 
And  inspiration,  which  leads  to  a  higher  clime. 

Come  to  the  table  which  our  God  hath  spread ; 
Its  bountiful  supply  is  unlimited. 
AValk  on  the  mantle  of  grass  ever  green 
And  abide  under  the  canopy  of  Heaven. 

In  Freedom  walk  the  green  fields  of  Paradise 
And  move  among  the  children  of  earth,  a  blessing. 
Be  tender,  tolerant,  loving  and  true; 
Let  your  benediction  fall  softly  as  the  gentle  dew. 

Brothers,  dear,  let  Love  Divine  enthrone  thy  heart 
And  every  word,  thought  and  deed  be  sublime. 
That  man  may  know  thou  hast,  even  though  slightly, 
Touched  the  hem  of  that  Holy  Garment  Divine. 


564  The  Flashlights  of  Truth 

Be  still  in  abiding  confidence — in  the  Living  God 
And  faithfully  eat  from  the  table  of  our  Lord. 
In  gratitude,  praise  and  thanksgiving,  ever 
Walk  upon  the  Sacred  Path, — Love  Divine. 


TRUTH 

*  Truth,  is  as  old  as  God,  for,  lo,  it  is  God ! ' ' 
It  is  never  touched,  contaminated  nor  changed 
By  the  pen,  neither  by  the  tongue  of  man. 
But  stands  resplendent.  The  Over  Soul. 

The  Harp  of  the  Infinite  fills  the  Universe; 
Each  individual  is  a  string  thereon. 
The  Infinite  breathes  His  Holy  Breath, 
And  the  music  of  the  Spheres  reverberates. 

Touch  the  inner  chord  of  thy  Being, 
Then  vibrate  with  Harmony-Divine,  and  thou 
Shalt  rest  in  Peace  and  lave  in  the 
Essense — Love,  and  dwell  at  Home  in  God. 


LIGHT 

Down  through  the  dust  of  the  Ages 
The  rays  of  the  Light  Supernal 
Penetrate  the  darkness  of  ignorance 
As  they  quicken  each  Soul  in  the  Universe. 

The  End. 


Publications  by 

ELIZABETH  DELVINE    KING 

THE  LOTUS— A  messenger  of  Love,  Light  and  Truth 
is  sent  forth  from  time  to  time  carrying  a  message 
of  Truth  Divine. 

Price  per  copy $  .10 

Or  twelve  copies  for 1.00 

THE  LOTUS  PATH— A  book  of  deep  spiritual  signifi- 
cance. 

Paper  cover,  127  pages $  .75 

Cloth  bound 1.25 

AUM,  THE  COSMIC  SILENCE— To  assist  the  student- 
devotee  to  come  into  the  Cosmic  At-one-ment. 
Paper  cover,  23  pages $  .35 

SAYINGS  OF  JEHOVAH— Showing  the  distinction  be- 
tween Aum  the  Cosmic  Omnipresence,  and  God,  the 
individual  expression  of  the  Infinite. 
Paper  cover,  44  pages $  .50 

THE  HIGHER  METAPHYSICS— Teaches  the  import- 
ance of  clarifying  the  mind  of  carnal  illusions  that 
harmony  may  express  in  the  mind  and  body. 
Paper  cover,  57  pages $  .75 

These  books,  together  with  The  Flash  Lights  of  Truth, 
contain  the  revealed  message  and  its  working  hypothesis, 
which  has  been  revealed  to  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Delvine  King 
within  the  past  ten  years. 

A  SET  of  these  books,  paper  cover,  except  The  Flash 
Lights  of  Truth,  will  be  sold  for  $4.00,  including  postage. 

THE  LOTUS  PATH 
A  book  of  deep  spiritual  significance,  is  for  the  spirit- 
ually awakened  and  direct  to  the  individual ;  its  message 
is  Truth  Absolute. 

X 


Its  purpose  is  to  assist  the  student-devotee  to  come 
into  the  realization  of  the  fullness  of  the  Message  of 
Jesus  Christ.  When  this  is  accomplished  man  sees  him- 
self as  God  has  ever  seen  him,  ''The  image  and  likeness 
of  God.'' 

AUM,  THE  COSMIC  SILENCE 

Is  for  the  student-devotee  who  has  found  the  entrance 
to  the  Sacred  Path,  and,  moving  upon  it,  has  become  a 
Divine  Mystic.  Then  through  its  vibrations  as  well  as  its 
message  it  assists  the  spiritual  devotee  to  come  into  rap- 
port with  the  Cosmic  Heart — the  Infinite  Love  Divine. 
The  book  assists  man  to  become  conscious  of  Aum — the 
Omnipresence  in  which  he  lives,  moves  and  has  his  be- 
ing; and  as  a  drop  in  the  ocean  rests  secure  in  the 
ocean,  so  will  man,  when  he  thus  feels  his  at-one-ment 
with  the  Cosmic  Ocean  of  Love. 

THE  SAYINGS  OF  JEHOVAH 

Is  to  assist  the  student-devotee  who  is  desirous  of 
knowing  the  ''Whole  Truth,"  to  discern  the  distinction 
between  AUM — the  Omnipresent  Essence — and  God,  the 
expressed  manifestation  of  Aum. 

Jehovah  is  the  Individual  Manifestation  of  the  Infinite, 
has  passed  around  the  Wheel  of  Experience,  and  is  to- 
day a  Radiant  Center  of  the  Light  and  Love  of  the 
Infinite;  the  highest  expression  of  the  Infinite,  we  of 
this  planet  can  comprehend. 

The  Solar  sun  is  an  outer  symbol  of  Jehovah 's  Throne : 
therefore,  in  the  fullness  of  illumination  man  perceives 
God  is  both  Impersonal  and  Personal. 

This  light  assists  the  student  to  gain  his  bearing, 
after  having  cut  the  chains  of  the  old  conception  of  a 
personal  God  of  wrath,  and  launched  out  into  the  im- 
personal Ocean  of  Love, — to  see  the  great  plan  of  the 
Infinite,  to  find  his  place  in  it  and,  thus  doing,  content- 
ment will  be  an  abiding  presence ;  and  Divine  Satisfac- 
tion his  portion. 


Teaches  the  importance  of  a  purified  mind;  that 
thoughts  are  things,  created  by  the  carnal  mind. 

God  gave  the  Real  Self,  that  ''which  God  created  in 
God's  image  and  likeness,"  dominion  over  the  carnal 
mind  and  its  thoughts. 

The  carnal  mind  and  body  being  in  one  vibration,  the 
body  expresses  the  beliefs  which  are  dominant  in  the 
carnal  mind.  This  is  the  earth  which  God  gave  man 
dominion  over, — just  his  own  carnal  mind  and  body. 
God  did  not  give  man  dominion  over  any  other  man's 
mind  nor  thoughts.    Just  his  own. 

The  Higher  Metaphysics  teach  the  student  to  stand 
upon  the  Eternal  Rock — Truth  Absolute;  and  to  learn 
the  unchangeableness  of  God,  His  Love,  Law,  Life  and 
Power;  and  to  come  into  rapport  with  the  Mind  of  the 
Infinite,  by  purifying  this  carnal  mind  until  it  becomes 
so  transparent  that  God's  mind  only  operates  in  his  men- 
tality.    This  is  the  work  of  the  individual. 


Truth  Centre 

WHERE 

A   MESSAGE   OF  THE   NEW  AGE 
IS   GIVEN 

Individual  InstruSion  by  appointment 

927  We^  36th  Place 
LOS  ANGELES.  CAL..  U.S.A. 

WE   GIVE   SPECIAL   ATTENTION   TO    THE    CORRESPONDENCE 
COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTIONS  UPON  THE 
HIGHER  METAPHYSICS. 

8 


YC  15696 
U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 

11 


CDElDfib72M 


■I  ■llll   HIM  III     1,1,1    1, 


388482 


ilTY  OF  CAUFORNIA  LIBRARY 


